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Couple Engaged in Intimate Acts as the Man Pours Tea
gentle-twig replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
Buttery rice enlivened by sunny yuzu and fresh jasmine. The butter note dyes down and rice becomes starchier and chewier. In the drydown I finally get a subtle tea black tea note, classic BPAL. But with the chewy rice already in play, it doesn’t necessarily have that chewy character I associate with it. Instead, it hovers above this bright and lively scent like a dark veil. I also start to get the smoked vanilla on drydown, bringing this scent into Dorian territory (albeit much more refreshing). The smoke is just the subtlest thread and adds a glimmer of interest. I like this scent, but I don’t like the buttery cast that never quite dissipates. I think this one might struggle to find its audience despite its beauty and coherence. It veers into a lot of controversial territories that don’t necessarily have overlapping fanbases: it’s fresh yet gourmand, with a touch of smokiness. But I also realize if I could tolerate the butteriness this would definitely be a love for me. I’m kind of bummed neither of the shunga tea decants (the other being the first tea ceremony of the year) were obvious winners. I like both of them, but both push me out of my comfort zone into gourmand territory. I will probably hang on to both decants and see if they grow on me or settle into something more comfortable for me. -
Not sure I really get vanilla from this, though there's something sweet. I get a hint of spice and maybe . . maybe some fruit in the background.
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I like Lupercalia because the perfumes are lighter and there isn't a lot of patchouli. This is my season more than Samhain. Wet: foody hazelnut. and juicy pear behind it. hmm. pear went a little bandaids scent for a bit. Is that the frankincense? dry: No more hazelnut. a little floral - osmanthus? , hint of pear, and still bandaids. Bummer. Not bad, but nothing I need more of.
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Love this one! If you like light, sweet perfumes, this is for you! Wet: Juicy ginger. Light musk, with sugar. Hint of floral. Mmm. Dry: sweet blue musk. Clean and unobtrusive. I'd wear this daily. I love me some blue musk. Lasts quite a while.
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2025 decant: In the decant: wooh! strong apple. juicy. Wet: Still apple, but there's some amber vanilla behind it. Dry: No apple juice in sight. slight bit of fruit, but it's dried fruit and red musk.
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In the decant and wet: I get lovely oakmoss. I got this one for the amber, but oakmoss is prominent here. I agree with gentle-twig, there's some kind of musk, too, Dry, it all turns slightly woody (cedar?!). Maybe that's how my nose reads the oakmoss. very masculine and clean.
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A really nice aquatic with lotus. Lovely and fresh, But not too "cold". There is a hint of coolness from the mint, but it's balanced by the juicy lotus (and maybe by the ambergris, not sure what I'm getting).
- Today
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A combo of two of my least favorite candies, so I was never meant to love this, lol. Even when I was little, if my cousins and I got candy cigarettes in our Halloween treats, we'd pretend to smoke them while playing a game of pretend, and then we would toss them in the garbage. They were not for eating. They taste (and smell like) chalk and spearmint. I like root beer when it's just a drink (preferably over vanilla ice cream), but it smells dry and flat here. Light and fades quickly on me, and I wasn't sad to see it go. If you like a minty root beer with chalky tones, though, you'll like this.
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This one starts out with a sweet liquor and that graveyard dirt smell. Once on my skin it blooms a bit more with florals I'm not too familiar with and a bit of a woody smell that might come from the Spanish moss? I can't quite pick out what the liquor notes are either but it's not super heavy on them. The florals fade over the next hour though not completely. The dirt note also fades a bit but some of it still zhangs around. The woody smell and parts of the liquor hang around longer but it's less booze-y smelling by this point and more like an earthy woody spice of some sort. It's a bit less sweet. It's still got a fair amount of throw at this point too, like about medium. I really like this one. In fact I love it. It was a frimp from the lab. So many loved scents I have encountered this way! I hope to get a bottle one day.
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This reminds me a lot of Rose Red, but maybe not quite as dewy. The green of the stem is there right from the start. il In the imp was more just a light rose, fresh on skin the green stem comes through right alongside the scent of the rose itself. The green fades more quickly than the rose, but the rose doesn't stay around very long after. It has maybe medium throw at the start and goes very light on the throw in about an hour, hour and a half. I think Rose Red maybe lasts a little longer? I'll have to try it to be sure. I really like this one, I may get a bottle of it if I can't get a bottle of Rose Red when I want to buy that one.
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You might be thinking of The Serpentine from 2018? That one was Dorian, Lilith's lavender, snowdrops, and soft vanilla – not “mint” as such, but it has that cool feel from the snow element and the lavender in it is lovely. The only HGs I can recall with lavender that are currently available are: > To A Wreath of Snow – Morning rising in mourning grey: tobacco flower, white oud, lavender bud, and ambergris accord. > Diver Combing Her Hair – Salt-dusted lilac and lavender petals splashed by sea water. Neither have the mint you’re looking for.. I’m thinking you could add in a couple of drops of a mint essential oil though? Another option could be to try to get hold of a Lick It hair gloss from the Yules (there’s been a couple of them in previous years) – peppermint + vanilla – and add a few drops of lavender EO. Hope that helps ! Good luck with your search 🙂
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Wet in the bottle I smell...raisins? On skin the open is lemon Pledge-y tea with maybe a touch of bergamot. As it dries down I get more sugar emerging, but it takes a good long while for the rum to really present itself. Even after a couple of hours, there isn't really anything alcoholic that ever appears. Simple notes but really takes a couple of lovely turns on the skin as it wears. I like it, and would love it even more if it had a touch of amber for a deeper sweetness.
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Great Pleasures for Women and Their Treasure Boxes
kelpsoda replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
Lovely fruit scented when wet. I get almond milk when drying! yum. after a while it's just a faint fruity floral and nice. A hint of powder, but it's not too bad. -
2025: Luscious caramel and amber when wet. Dries down to just a hint of smoke - or woods? Not at all foody when dry, and sticks around for quite a while.
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Hi, I’ve been buying BPAL a long time but only got into hair gloss in like… 2019? I have a shampoo that is mint & lavender & smells amazing but it vanishes once rinsed. I was POSITIVE there was a lavender mint hair gloss but can only find a past juniper mint one mentioned. Am I crazy? Is there one similar I can’t find? Any recommendations are helpful!! Thank you!!
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I've worn this one alot since it arrived in the mail but I'm having trouble describing it. On me this starts out very fruity with the cherry juice, plum and red musk but as it settles into the skin the beeswax and skin musk become more noticeable and this dries down to smelling like a skin- warmed beeswax scent with subtle fruit and blossom notes. The tea note here is very subtle and must blend into the fruity notes. Overall, this is very pretty and wearable. I like the combination of the skin musk and beeswax, along with the fruit and blossoms.
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2025 version: On me this is a thick coconut and caramel scent over dry spices and the golden amber and tobacco. I don't get the delphinium or the black currant here. The amber and tobacco almost smell smokey and woodsy. Before I came back to look at the notes I would have guessed that this had a cedar note or something similar. The tobacco is coming through quite strongly as a smokey note. This is a scent with alot of throw and it sticks around for a long time. Overall a sweet and smokey coconut scent with an element of dry spices and amber.
- Yesterday
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Surprisingly nutty, and warmer in the decant than on the skin (which is a bummer). I’ve recently identified fig as a love-hate note for me and here the note leans slightly too commercial perfume, but it’s fairly well grounded by the champaca and the toasted notes and roasted coconut. I can smell every note in this blend, which is very cool, but it harmonizes well. Happy with my decant for now and I might seek another, but I don’t need a whole bottle.
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I deathmatched this with Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat and am pleased to report that they are not the same despite both being all about lemon and sugar. This one actually starts off being tarter than Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, like there's a fresh squeeze of lemon with some sugar behind it, while LSSB is already sugary lemon right out of the gate. However, over time, this one becomes becomes more sugary and less lemony than LSSB. Although this says it is lightly dusted in sugar, I feel like this is like a lemon drop absolutely coated in a ton of white sugar dust. And I am here for it. I have very little LSSB left, and my partner really enjoys this one, so I may have to grab a bottle before this goes away. It will be fantastic during the summer months.
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Full disclosure: I do not like cherry blossom as a scent note. For me it’s somehow entirely antithetical; it’s delicate in such an over way it’s almost aggressive with it, which is just weird and f*cking confusing. But then, dammit, this blend comes along with other notes that sound so delightful I have to try it. I’m glad I took a chance because that “blush marshmallow” note is ridiculously good, and the cherry blossom note is top-only so it’s gone from the skin in a second. Sadly, with the amber alongside, those strawberries turn a little too shortcake doll on me after about ten minutes of wear. Verdict: Can we get a Blush Marshmallow single note/duet?
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I bought a decant of this because I didn’t know hibiscus had a scent. This is a light, green floral scent, with juicy dampness. Ephemeral like spring in both smell and staying power: this one is gone quickly.
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I don’t know how they do it, but this smells like sticking my nose into a package of candy cigarettes while sucking on a root beer barrel: chalky wintergreen, flat almost spicy root beer. This lasted for about 2 hours on my skin and was completely gone by the 3 hour mark. Not a bottle purchase for me, but a wild scent experience and I’m glad to have the decant!
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This is the epitome of girl perfume to me: it’s sweet (not gourmand or cloying) and smells pink and pretty. Strawberry can sometimes be unbearably loud on my skin, but everything here is so well blended that I just get this pink, sweet, girly smell. This is what I wanted Pink Moon 2024 to be! Not a bottle purchase for me but I’m glad to have tried it.
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This scent to me basically breaks down into a sharp, bright frankincense accord over a dark, foody, and slightly funky honey accord. The frankincense is accompanied by the citrus blossoms and cedar, whereas I presume the white honey is getting its darker character from the musky amber. I don’t really get any ylang ylang, which is a shame because it might help bridge the two halves of this scent. This wears like a shunga equivalent of Carved Wooden Nativity Scene on me. I didn’t enjoy Carved Wooden Nativity Scene and while Rapturous Spouses and Curious Cat is more dignified, less cloying, and has a more intriguing complexity, I don’t really care for it either. That being said, it does have a classic shunga feeling about it and is pretty true to the description (except for the ylang ylang), so it will probably be a winner on those who like shungas, dark honey scents, and chiaroscuro effects. I will be going with the sunnier and frothier Lesbians Cavorting with a Tortoishell Dildo for my honey fix from this years Lupers.
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Sniffed from the decant: Yep, it’s one of those creamy pink scents from the lab that I love so much, sort of a rosewater buttercream. No sign of musk. On my skin: Despite having no notes in common this reminds me a lot of Tiki Princess, so clearly my nose is reading something “cold coconut” about it. Not unpleasant but I’m surprised!
