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- Today
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Dreamy is the perfect word for this. From the get go it is dusky pink and pillowy. Soft, not super sweet, and airy. I struggle to pull apart the notes at first, as it dries certain elements such as the carnation or cedar become a bit more distinct but they all meld together beautifully. Dry it tends to more dry and spicy then the sweet peony it opens with, but retains that blurry dreamy quality.
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Initially I get mostly saffron and a touch of smokiness. It's lightly fruity but in a dry way, and there's something reminiscent of soft leather. This never gets very floral on me, they are tamped down by sandalwood, saffron, and vanilla. It has big throw but not overwhelming and heavy. It dries down to a lovely spicy dry vanilla with a hint of tobacco flower one me.
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Yum, cookies 'n' cream! Not overly sweet, though — the emphasis is on the non-lactonic, non-buttery cream (I'd say it's more of a creamy vibe than actual cream). The shortbread is warm, just out of the oven, and dusted with a little cocoa powder. The spices are there, but I'd say they're off to the side on the counter, waiting to go into a different recipe, rather than in the shortbread itself. I'm not getting any smoke in the smoked vanilla bean. Delicious, although I think my sample is all I'll need.
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Oh, this is so relaxing! It goes on with mainly lavender and lemon verbena, but over the course of about an hour the slightly more herbal, bitter elements emerge, while the lavender and lemon recede a little. When I say bitter, though, I don't mean in any unpleasant way — just in that you can smell the hops and the anise. I can also smell the chamomile, and I know some people (including myself!) were looking for chamomile-forward scents. While I wouldn't say that it's the dominant note, the chamomile is definitely there! It's honestly reminding my of Sleepytime Tea a little bit.
- Yesterday
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A song of surrender: rose syrup and honeyed pomegranate bound in amber resin, vanilla silk, and leather.
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Calla lilies stained blood red by Snake Oil and daemonorops draco, flecked with poison-touched lily of the valley.
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Reading elissamay's review above made me laugh, because I kind of just want to type "SAME" to all of it. I ordered this because I loved the book and decided to take a risk with poppy and tuberose. I'm usually good with orchid, but the other two gave me pause. I get the almost fruity character elissamay mentioned, and I think it's the orchid. The low notes of oud and patchouli keep those florals balanced. The honey keeps creeping forward and twining around the vanilla, which is distinctly smoky in character. I'm really happy with this one just fresh out of the mailbox. I'm curious to see how it ages. I am betting the amber will come forth more, since I can only catch a hint of it now. It's all very dark, very femme, and so very lush.
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I ordered this because a) I wanted the book and b) I fancy myself a sensuous witch. I might not be the best person to review it since florals generally aren't my jam, but this blend is dark and stormy enough that I'm almost reading the flowers as fruit. Except for the tuberose - that one stands out unmistakably among her covenmates. It isn't loud or taking over, but I can discern it specifically. (I don't love tuberose, can you tell?) The oud and patchouli are truly grounding and centering this one, and the vanilla has a smoky, dry sweetness that is probably helping to keep that tuberose high priestess in check for me. One thing I definitely can't pick out yet is honey. But this is brand new, so I will give it some time. Recommend for anyone who loves an intoxicating, dark blend where the patchouli and spice take a bit of a backseat to the other players for a change.
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Hm. I had decently high hopes for this based on the notes, but this all flattened out on my skin into a dead-on dupe for Secret original scent/baby powder deodorant. Glad to have tried it, glad to pass it on to someone who can make it sing.
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This is so interesting because OOB I get so much nag champa incense, but imagine if nag champa incense was, like, really, really classy. I think I'm also reading the bergamot as an almost sparkling or fizzy aspect. I can't wait to wear this!
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Garg is mostly oak/oakmoss on me, with the rest of the notes serving as warm, glowy, oh so flattering stage lighting for that star note. Not getting much incense or cedar, blackened or otherwise (granted I prefer my cedar to be punchier than most) so I assume these were lighter versions, or, once again, oak is stealing the show. I find myself missing them. Nonetheless, this handsome beard oil is charming and comforting, and would be right at home in the Steamworks line. Edit: Memory unlocked; Garg could be the cousin of Gloom Meeting HG from the 2020 weenies. 🧟♀️
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Spicy, Smokey incense and Patchouli, no honey to my nose. the spice is almost foody to my nose.
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jolarocknrolla changed their profile photo
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I also immediately compared this to Mornings in New Orleans. Coffee with soft powdery spice. The difference is the rose peeking out. And yeah it’s a Turkish Delight rose. Pretty sweet. Or maybe that’s just incense. Unlike other reviews I don’t necessarily get black coffee from this.
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Beaver Moon: Lime Blossom & Amber Sugar
roseus replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
In the imp, crisp pithy lime with a coating of sugar and a blossom-y headiness. On my skin it is like candied lime peel, zesty with a bitter edge. The amber really rounds it out. Gorgeous! -
In the imp creamy rice and a hint of cardamom. Cozy rice pudding. On my skin I get the honey, and a bit of a Snow White-type snow but it isn't the main event. I find this to be very rice-forward. Musky, creamy, slightly starchy-powdery, with a halo of sweetness and spice.
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Wet: Grape cough syrup! After the surprise Dimetapp fades away a few seconds later, I am left with an interesting olfactory knot to untangle. We’re dealing with a lot of rawhide suede, and there's a Snake Oil I barely recognize — way more vanilla, and much sweeter and drier than I remember. Still has the same Snake Oil vanilla & crotch musk thing going on (I can never shake it), but with the doeskin leather from Coyote turned way up, and the dry vanilla of Tombstone. So if you took out the sassafras of Tombstone, added the leather from Coyote, and dunked it in vanilla ice cream and musk you’d have it. I think. It’s confusing me and I know I can’t wear it, but it has a voluptuous cowgirl aspect to it that I seem drawn to regardless. Yee haw.
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Finally got to try the Snoot! Turns out, I’m in the camp that can’t smell any leather, and I can typically detect leather by the ppm. What I do get in spades is a big punch of spicy-sweet clove/black amber/cinnamon incense and the powdery, purple cloud of a fresh pack of nag champa. The patchouli hangs back a bit at this stage, but is holding everything together with a subtly grounding earthy note. One of my favorite record-shop incenses smells just like this (hello, Fire Goddess!) and it also reminds me of the first time I tried Urd, almost 20 years ago. Snooty Bat is driving the time machine and we’re going way, way back. As it wears in and warms up, things shift around a bit. The patch finally blooms and I feel like I miiiiight be getting some leather (wishful thinking?). The florals of the champa recede at this stage and it becomes slightly more masc-leaning, which is a fun surprise. I still find myself wanting more leather to balance this out so it doesn’t read so much as strictly incense, but I ALSO still find myself going back in for more. Absolutely huffable, and I’m sure would be glorious on a lover after a night out. If you’re in a particular kind of mood it absolutely will fit the bill: It’s moody, it’s broody, it’s snooty.
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musk and brimstone with a cologne edge, maybe ink underneath when wet. Goes brimstone for a while then settles very musky, dark and reddish
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I get both coffee and rose but applied I have to wonder if it’s even the right scent because it’s overwhelmingly lemony.Surely it’s not Barraquito? But no, I thought I smelled rose in the bottle. Maybe it’s like my mom’s Queen Elizabeth tea roses, just a lemony rose? But it really is far more like coffee and lemon candy. Not a bad combination but not at all what I thought
- Last week
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Okay, I'll bite! I'll be the first person to leave an inadequate review, so hopefully someone else sees this and is moved to write up a better one. I have no idea what Unquiet Slumbers is doing on my skin, but it doesn't feel like it's quite having the intended effect. The first note I'm hit with a super powdery sweet musk, tinted with something else I'm finding hard to pin down--something a little sour? Bitter, perhaps? On drydown, I swear I get the faintest whiff of peppermint, something very clean. Throughout the day it just goes poof and becomes 100% powdery musk with something slightly herbaceous that vaguely reminds me of Opal Crown. I'm going to let this one rest and see if it comes together for me in a month or so. In the meantime, any takers for that review gauntlet?
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When I first tested this it was all tomtegröt on me and I thought this was another gourmand fail. Now it has thankfully improved. The porridge note is still overpowering for the first minute or so, and I am disappointed that it seems to be made out of oat rather than rice on my skin. But soon the scent becomes much more complex and compelling. Lingonberry is the strongest note and I also get something akin to date (maybe part of the tomtegröt accord). Along with the bright lingonberry, there is an elusive cool note, smoother and less obtrusive than other BPAL frost notes I have encountered. Next the frankincense and woody branches appear. I don’t read the frankincense as such, it just provides a slight incense touch to the spindly woods. As yulween dries down, it shifts from cold to warm on my skin. There is still a hint of porridge but I largely get a warm dry wood, reminding me a little of the inside of a sauna. This is still too gourmand for me to desire a full bottle, but I will enjoy using up my imp on days I want something warm and cozy but with a little bit of gauntness.
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Friends, I can’t stop laughing about this scent, because… I am a rare book cataloguer who works in a back office where pretty much all that happens is we catalogue old books and drink a lot of coffee, and in the vial this oil smells exactly like work. EXACTLY. The coffee is strong and sharp, and under it is something like a few hundred years’ worth of books that have been lying around. Sometimes with book scents I feel like they land in “inspired by” territory vs. exact reproduction, but this? I’m telling you, this is dead-on a big ol’ heap of old books and a long sequence of daily pots of strong coffee. After drydown I can pick the leather note out a bit more on my skin, and a hint of the foam. It’s still very dry overall — definitely unsweetened espresso. Am I going to wear this during the week so I smell like work while I’m at work?!? On the weekends to remind myself of the office?!? I don’t really know, but at least for today I’m wearing it to go to the Mütter Museum!
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Terrible Moon: Pistachio and Vanilla Buttercream
PresterJoan replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This scent goes on with lots of almond-scented pistachio and a lactic, very-slightly-tangy vanilla. As it's wearing, the almond extract quality fades and the accord becomes one that's nutty, but not identifiable as any particular nut. The tang of the buttercream fades, too, to where it's just a creamy vanilla. I'll need to test it a couple more times before I decide whether it's worth a FS, but I like it very much. -
Wolf Moon: Amber & Grey Musk
vixen of pie replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
To me, the amber note is resinous and golden. The grey musk reads as a very light, smoky incensey sort of scent on clean cotton, as if someone has left a metaphysical store and the scent lingers on their clean clothes. It's a very cozy scent that feels warm, fuzzy and muddled. -
keenjeangreen changed their profile photo
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For me, the “ruby-tinged amber sunlight” comes through first, both on my skin and when I try this scent on a testing strip. The scent has a slightly wan warmth and an expansive feeling that makes me think of being outdoors. As it dries, the woods come forward for me, though I never really pick up anything green. I suspect bergamot is in here helping to drive my positive reaction, although I can’t pick it out from the blend — but many of my favorite scents have that note. I love the way scents can capture a feeling or a story, and this definitely smells to me like watching a sunset outside near a fragrant woods. When fresh, it has significant throw, and while it disappeared from my skin after eight hours, after 24 hours on my testing strip, it’s still going strong.
