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- Today
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In the bottle I get a low, golden incense. Lots of frankincense and soft cedar. Just a hazy halo of light floral. Wet the heliotrope takes center stage, I think it is what has a sweet, vanilla-ish quality? Sort of creamy, somewhat like a really light honey. I wondered if there was a touch of beeswax on wet. As it dries I get more of the neroli, adding a slight bitterness for contrast, and a bit of heady rose. The citrus element hangs around in the background, just a bit of brightness. I would agree the frankincense stays a main player, and it definitely leans more incense than a floral scent overall. Golden, meditative.
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Regrettably, I don't find this to be an accurate tomato leaf note.
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This is more immediately the softer, less dead leaf-y dry down of the fragrance oil I have from a few years ago. The scent itself seems stronger. Samhainophobia is a yearly comfort scent to me, so I practically screamed when I saw this available! If you are a fan of this hair gloss, also check out Red Rose Frankincense Tears from the Yules.
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This is *almost* identical to my Boo 2010, but I like it a bit more, as it’s softer and more subtle. Boo can sometimes get a bit cloying on the dry down. The frankincense here seems to make it a bit more wearable. So glad I tried this!
- Yesterday
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Me, passing over this scent when perusing the update: this is going to have that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note, and I don't know how that would play with the other notes. Me, getting a tester with my decant order and sniffing the vial: this has that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note. Me, testing it on my skin: this has that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note... but it works with the other notes: So yeah, it has that cucumber-y paper note at first, which I think was also in Carved Wooden Post Office and The Last Syllable, but somehow, it's not jarring when paired with the other notes. At first, it's mostly the paper and the peony, but over time, the paper note calms down, and the black amber increases in strength, so that it's mostly peony and black amber. I'm generally not someone who wears resins paired with floral notes, but I think that these two smell lovely together. And the black amber in this is the good stuff and nothing like the black amber in Terrible Moon: Cardamom and Black Amber duet. I feel fortunate to have been gifted a tester of this by my decanter! I am shocked that I managed to adequately envision the paper note, but not how these notes would meld together. I could not stop sniffing my wrist. I think I might end up needing more of this.
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This one is mostly about the strawberry note on me, with a little black cherry cream lurking behind it. I didn't really get the halo halo ingredients on my skin, as the strawberry was in full-force, but maybe slathering this down my arms would help bring out more complexity in this scent. I'll do that before it goes away, as I really like the black cherry cream in this and wish I were getting more of it.
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This starts off with a blast of the cherry liqueur accompanied by some spice (which fortunately isn't heavy here), but the strawberry is quick to join the party and quickly becomes the dominant note, so that this mostly smells like a spice-swirled strawberry scent with a bit of cherry and amber lurking in the background. I'm going to give this a slather test to see if that helps the cherry last longer on my skin. I do think this is nice, but I would definitely have preferred it without the strawberry, just because I seek out cherry scents, and I don't think we've seen the Lab use a black cherry liqueur note since Gothabilly?
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I decided to try this mostly because of the German name, since plum isn't usually a note that is in my wheelhouse, and I thought maybe plum jam might work better for me than the Lab's other plum notes? During the wet phase of the scent, and during the early dry phase, I was really enamored with this because the scent for some reason reminded me of Glühwein more than any actual Glühwein or spiced wine scent. It was seriously taking me back to the Christmas markets in Germany. But then, it ended up taking a turn for the worse, by no fault of the plum, for one of the spices reared its ugly head and stomped all over the Christmas market goodness I was enjoying. And that spice, fellow readers, was cumin. What did I do to deserve this fate?
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This features a bitter orange peel note that smells just like neroli to my nose. At first, it's super loud and the ruby chocolate hides behind it, but then the ruby chocolate note asserts itself and beats that bitter orange peel note into the background. The creaminess of it really smooths over the edges of the orange peel note. The wet phase of the scent was a little too much for me with the neroli or neroli-like note, so this isn't something I will be seeking out more of, but I am glad that I got a chance to try it! Curiously enough, I ended up getting more ruby chocolate from this one than the other two ruby chocolate scents I tried from this Box of Chocolates collection.
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This one is all about the strawberry mochi on me, and the smell of the mochi texture is on point! I could smell a hint of the pink cherry sugar in the decant and when the scent was freshly applied, but it was quick to fade. Curiously enough, I am not getting much ruby chocolate from this one -- it's just a mochi party on me!
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This is mostly about the Snake Oil on me (especially its musk) with some creamy ruby chocolate in the background. It has good throw and staying power, although I'm surprised the ruby chocolate isn't stronger on my skin! I'm going to set this one aside and test it after it has had a few months to settle. At the moment, I like it, but was hoping for more of that ruby chocolate note from Millennial Pink with the Snake Oil.
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Do you like marshmallow? If you said yes, then this HG is for you! It’s very marshmallow forward. I was worried the honey might take over, but for me, it’s a lightly honeyed marshmallow. This would be fantastic for layering. Love it!
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All of the above. Absolute Creamsicle perfection. Lasts beautifully. Obsessed.
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On me this is *incredibly* strong, just from a small test spot. I'm not able to pick out what the fruit is, and the wax/plastic note comes across to me as coconut, which I don't care for. I had to scrub this off right away.
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A sexy, resin-y rose. Most of the rose is in the initial application, quickly smoked up. This was my night-time fave all the past winter, which a pure or more dewy rose would not have suited. It's not too heavy to not work during the spring, but heavy enough to work for fall.
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As a recent hair gloss user, this is by far one of my favorites. A comforting incense, fine for daytime or bed.
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I agree with Geminirubyshoes, the cacao isn't as noticeable as the oud, which is a bit sharp but smells great. It really does take the lead on this one, as the amber peeks out from behind. I think this is a great scent that may be a bit strong for my skin chemistry. Still, it's really growing on me as it dries a bit.
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Gorgeous. Instant multiple bottle order. A blast of bright scent that reminds me of the sharpness I love in Phyllocrania Paradoxa v1, which quickly calms down into a gentle wisp of passionfruit cuddled into a creamy, sugary embrace. Winner winner BPAL dinner!
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This is one the best things I've ever smelled from bpal The absolute essence of a Mediterranean, sun soaked day with luscious dry heat and lap of the ocean. The absolute pinnacle of a "your skin but better" scent. The pink pepper goes almost fruity on me, but on dry down melds with the brilliant salt note to become much much more than the sum of its parts. This is a spectacular scent
- Last week
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i had kind of wanted to try this but didn't really like antique lace, so didn't bother. then i received a frimp of the 2025 version from a lovely person on the forum. i definitely get the antique lace feeling, though less sweet than i recall. at first, the leather and caramel balance each other out nicely so as to not be too strong one way or the other. then the leather gets a bit stronger and it's kind of smoky, before fading back a bit more. i really like how the caramel just balances out the leather and isn't too sweet. very pretty.
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the frothed cream is reading as kind of nutty and herbal...not really liking the beginning stage. i think the 'honey dust' note smelled similar on me. it stays this way on my skin for a long time, then i notice a hint of champaca. the cherry and osmanthus/apricot only come out when it's been on the skin for 30+ minutes and add a sweetness, but don't take over. if this hadn't had such a strong nutty note i might've liked it more, but the frothed cream note with honey just takes over.
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This is a straightforward but lovely white tropical floral; I have never smelled Flor de Maga proper in real life, but concur with previous reviewers that this note feels closest to a jasmine/hibiscus combination. It's bright and sweet, more citric and humid as it goes on and softening into more of a recognizable white floral as it dries down. It's rather similar to the newer fundraiser perfume Night-Scented Orchid; I was happy to be able to pick up a decant of this one in my quest to experience every kind of floral note possible, and I'll keep this around, but on balance I think I prefer Night-Scented Orchid.
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The reviews made me very curious about this one, despite not normally going for chocolate scents. This smells like rich hot chocolate and a whiff of...goat. Surely the oudh, but I can't help but think of goats. It's not stanky per se, but more... animalic in a furry or hay way. No pooudh here, for me anyways. I don't detect any booze at all, surprisingly. I don't drink so those notes usually stand out to me, but I'm not mad about it. It was the note I was most concerned about haha. Or maybe it's rather peaty and combining with the oudh to give me the hay impression? 🤔 Longevity is not supreme, but throw is good. Growing up we always went to a holiday event held by a large church in our area that went balls to the wall on Christmas lights. Acres of em. They served free hot chocolate that was approximately 600° in little styrofoam cups and you walked around holding it for warmth more than anything because it was undrinkable for like a solid hour. They also had a petting zoo of little goats and ponies and rabbits. This smells exactly like those nights. It's the scent of riding the little train because my mom loved it and scalding the fuck out of your mouth because the cocoa smells drinkable but is actual magma. The Yules this year really came for my nostalgia, man.
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i smell the amber cream at first with a hint of smoked vanilla. after a few minutes i get the honeyed orris root, which gets stronger over time. this scent is quite subtle and doesn't have a lot of throw. the carnation slowly peeks out later and spices things up. it dries down to a smoky vanilla-amber carnation. as a carnation lover myself, i really like this. just wish it had a bit more throw.
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Yep, just straight up fudge brownie! Plain and simple but very good! Didn't seem to last too long for me, but that is ok. Still very good.
