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- Today
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Hungry Ghost Moon: Pineapple and Red Hot Honey
roseus replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Juicy pineapple topped with a thick, sweet honey and some red pepper heat! On my skin the honey overtakes the pineapple a bit, but a very fun and fruity scent. -
I have to admit, this one was absolutely bewildering on my skin! I think I amped something cinnamon and it overwhelmed anything else - I keep sniffing it to see if there’s another layer, but my nose doesn’t recognize anything else. Curious to see if this will settle down with some rest!
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All neroli, ambergris, and myrrh in the imp. Hazy incensey neroli. Slightly bitter. On the skin I get sweet lemon and apricot with a sweet muskiness. It doesn't strike me as distinctly raspberry at first, not super juicy or jammy like it tends to be on me. Myrrh and ambergris underneath for body with neroli floating overtop.
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Ooo I really like this! I've been reading about Patrick Henry and his wife Sarah, so the opening bright greenery plus a sort of metallic note, instead of evoking jubilance, instilled a sort of sadness at first, making me think of "the next gale that sweeps from the North will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?". It invoked imagery of sons and fathers dying in cold, damp, grassy fields with swords and bayonets clashing. Things get better, though. Henry was once paid for his lawyer duties with 10 gallons of peach brandy, and another time, 30 gallons of rum (could you imagine? ), so this makes me think of that when the fruit notes emerges under the greenery after a while, and the metallic note recedes, going much more cheerful. It's mostly a sweet, bright orange, yet with the cherry and lemon peel, it reads as more of a general fruit than anything specific, and just lightly boozy. The greenery reads more mossy and like a fougere than evergreen thanks to the oakmoss (which stays for the duration of the fragrance). I don't get anything fussy with the juniper berry, either, usually a problem note that goes wet sock on me, haha. No, here it is lending more of a brightness with the neroli perhaps, maybe a teeny bit of spice with the pink pepper. Some of the notes here were used in fragrances of the 18th century (neroli, citrus, oakmoss, etc), and the juniper berry reads more like an aromatic herb that would be added to fragrances at the time. So, it's kind of more, I dunno, fougere-like oakmoss plus some intrigue and depth than any of the other notes really jumping out (fougeres technically are a late 19th century thing, but oakmoss goes back much further in use). I don't get much white amber, which can often be sweet but sometimes indolic, so I don't have any issues with it here, just lending a touch of sweetness overall, but this is largely gender neutral. The final drydown is a clean and green moss, with barely a whisper of the fruits and no metallic note, and some subtle spices and aromatics, which I'm absolutely happy with. BPAL is absolutely eating these historically inspired blends, and I'm surprisingly liking this better than most of the Fire Down Below blends. Tldr: a classic, 18th-19th century, mossy fragrance starting with a short lived metallic bite, with a fruit brandy emerging in the mids, drying down to a clean mossy blend with some herbal, aromatic depth, brightness, and a touch of sweetness.
- Yesterday
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I think had originally bought this for my daughter, but it was too sweet for her and I ended up with it. But I'd never reviewed it or even really tested it. Lola Lee Loo is indeed very sweet, reminding me of the pink notes of Poor Monkey (I was thinking that was pink fig but I just looked it up -- didn't we see a pink fig note somewhere not too long ago?). The clove and patchouli never develop on my skin, perhaps because this doesn't last long on me at all. It's soft and cozy while it's there, but I'm jealous of the people who got hours of wear from this one. It will be going on my swap list.
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This is definitely a rich and sultry scent, but not as heady as the description might sound! I get mostly a mix of sweet tropical white florals in the opening - not-punchy tuberose and a tame jasmine with a teeny hit of bell pepper greenery (à la certain dead leaves), which complements the floral notes super well. As this dries down, a soft orange blossom note takes the forefront, with the other flowers taking a supporting role. I feel like this and the other floral fragrance (Night-Scented Orchid) from the Hurricane Melissa relief release both fell under the radar, but I would highly recommend trying this if you're looking for a rich but not overwhelming tropical white floral scent.
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I agree with ShadowEtienne that this is a wonderful jasmine perfume! This starts out as a tame, moderately humid sweet jasmine that goes quite indolic about 20 minutes in (moth balls galore!!) then comes back to its senses shortly afterwards, retaining a bit of funk at the very edges. The description mentions a breath of citrus and it's pretty accurate - I find this sweet and almost fruity, but not explicitly zesty. On me this was pretty low projection and strength, very subtle but quite lovely. I get a bit of a mainstream vibe from this one but because it's so soft, it's not screechy and headache inducing as some mainstream-y perfumes can be. I feel like this and the other floral fragrance (Jamaican Bellflower) from the Hurricane Melissa relief release both fell under the radar, but I would highly recommend trying this if you're looking for a soft but well-balanced jasmine.
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This is wonderful! I get tea, cake, vanilla, and a definite hint of lavender. Might be a great sleep scent. Exceeeeeepppt....my husband hates it. I wish I had a photo of the face he made when he smelled it. "Smells like it went off. Like rotten eggs or garbage". So, if I have any hopes of sleeping beside my husband, won't be a sleep scent.
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I have the 2024 version, but realized I never reviewed it! My dearly beloved Peacock Queen! Peacock Queen is the rose perfume of my dreams - deep, lush, smooth, rich, and purely itself. I experience it as very red. Unfortunately I can't wear Rose Red, which turns to acrylic paint on my skin, but Peacock Queen's beauty more than makes up for this. My other favorite BPAL (nearly) pure rose scent is Two, Five, & Seven, which is very different, but these complement one another so well - Peacock Queen is the winter rose to Two, Five's summer, the nighttime to its daytime, the sensuous elegance to its playful brightness. I love it and feel so lucky to have both. Unfortunately, Peacock Queen tends to fade pretty quickly on my skin - its longevity has improved noticeably with aging and I'm hopefully that it might continue to do so, but I do have to reapply if I want to wear it all day and I treasure its accompanying hair gloss as a longer-lasting way to experience the scent (I'm intrigued by the lotion this year for the same reason). I am finding myself often wanting to wear it this winter, when I don't feel as pulled during the summer, and it shows up beautifully in the cold, vivid and stark as a proud red rose holding on when the other flowers of the season have faded.
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When this goes on, it reminds me intensely of the Ars Anni Equivalent No. 314, to the point that I think I probably could be fooled into thinking it was the same blend if I hadn't put it on myself - there's no milk note, but there's a definite creaminess, and whatever the florals are in Erl-King's Pale Daughter must remind me really intensely of the iris-mallow flower combination in 314. I wonder if perhaps there also may be ambergris in this one. As it dries, the differences between the two scents become clearer, though there's still a distinct resemblance. The Erl-King's Pale Daughter starts to show its aquatic features; there's a watery translucence which feels elegant and eerie, and something a little bit briny without being overpowering. It find it hard to identify the florals here; I can maybe get lilies if I try, but that might be my imagination based on the listed notes; I wonder if this may be the lab's waterlily accord which also showed up in last year's Cold Moon. Though there's no vanilla here, the creamy-musky-floral aquatic sensibility reminds me a little of Lyonesse, but made much more ghostly. This is a being who lives in the depths of still ponds, not in the ocean. I find this really lovely, and enjoy the elegant eerieness quite a bit; I could see myself wearing it a lot especially in warmer weather. There are also things I can't quite make sense of about it, and it's a perfume that I feel I need more time with to really understand. I might go for a bottle of this one, though it might too similar to 314 for that to make sense. But definitely glad to have my decant.
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I’ll preface this by stating I love oudh- drily resinous and woodsy with a little bit of an animalic undertone. But even non-oudh lovers or oudh newbies might enjoy this. It opens with creamy milk chocolate, then woodsy oudh saunters in, followed by a very discreet nip of that booze- maybe a very smooth rum or bourbon- certainly brown and sweet. Rowdy, unsophisticated Retch quickly transforms into a world-traveling maiden aunt of indeterminate age who shows up randomly smelling of foreign places and unfamiliar resins and sneaks you off before Christmas dinner to get you ridiculously high on hash she smuggled into the country. Though she is still a metalhead, she traded her biker leathers for Moroccan velvet bought from a souk in Marrakech, traded the corpse paint for kohl and deep red lipstick and channeled her rebellion into donating to causes that piss off her ultra-conservative parents. She doesn’t need to scream anymore, she just ignores her haters. She’s not at all embarrassed by her portrait with Mall Santa and loves to share it with all the baby goth cousins because she knows it mortifies the relatives Indefinably sweet, creamy, resinous, and Oudh forward with a drop of boozy swagger.
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This is gorgeous! In the imp a humid green floral with a touch of chocolate. Like Vanilla Orchid SN but instead of a vanilla facet, chocolate. Wet the chocolate is very prominent but as it dries down it fades back and melds back in with the floral notes. Dry there is a heady sap note, not into jasmine territory or anything. Just adding to that waxy, humid tropical floral vibe. Bottle worthy for me for sure.
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In the imp I get mostly sugared lemon and heliotrope. Very sugary to my nose, like lemon drop candies, no trace of citrus tartness. On my skin it gets more complex. The lavender peeks out first, and then the jasmine. As it dries the ozone comes forward and really transforms the scent. Chilly ozonic florals with a hint of lemony sweetness underneath.
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I'm also getting whatever odd background note that @ND¢is getting. Maybe it is kinda balsamic? I don't think it's patchouli but I can't quite put my finger on it. The wet stage was roasted beans and caramel but dry I'm just getting this off note behind a little haze of amber.
- Last week
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I can't improve upon everyone else's reviews. It's truly grey, pale purple, barest pink, soft and swirly, melancholy and lovely. It reminds me of Equivalent No 314, without the creaminess of that scent.
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So far I'm only getting a very mild kind of nutty buttercream. I love the scent of angel food cake but I'm sadly missing that entirely. There's a vague sheen in there that's got to be the lipgloss but this is so far a rare puzzling one on me- pleasant but entirely missing the promised notes. Maybe it needs more time to morph.
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The pomegranate dominates the pistachio about 60/40, but I can detect it's certainly more creamy pistachio than nutty/floral. The pom starts pretty juicy but mellows with the cream over time. Nice but not sure I need more than my decant
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On the open, apple, rose, and something a bit sour. I am also getting that waxiness that others have mentioned. VERY pulpy. Vanilla and cacao are very late to the game, appearing about an hour later. The patchouli must be here in only very small parts, as I can't pick it out of the lineup. Medium throw and decent longevity at about 6 hours. I'm glad I had the chance to try it, but I will be passing this on. Someone who likes the combo of roses and apples more than me is sure to love it!
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Wet on my skin this starts as pretty much entirely blackcurrant, very fruity and inching towards feeling artificial, as fruit scents unfortunately often can on me. As it dries, it becomes much more centrally a myrrh blend, and a lovely myrrh it is too - it feels to me like the same one from Black Butterfly Moon, and the effect with the still strong blackcurrant is similar to the blackberry + myrrh in that other blend, but without the florals which are a big part of Black Butterfly. The labdanum tar seems to be adding a sticky resinous depth and a bit of darkness, but overall this is all about the myrrh and blackcurrant on me. For that reason, it's a much more friendly, approachable blend than the description would suggest; it has a contemplative feel, but it definitely does not evoke a dirge to me. I enjoy this, and would recommend it as a relatively straightforward dark fruit + resin blend, but I have enough beautiful myrrh scents already. I would be more interested in this probably if it were a little darker and more uncomfortable, which it might be if the labdanum tar note were turned up a bit; I wonder if aging might bring that out and will keep my imp to find out.
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This goes on mostly coffee beans to start, close to photorealistic and smoky, with a chocolate-y warm depth. The rose shows up first as a floral sharpness underneath the coffee, and deepens for me over the course of wear, gradually unfolding in vividness. I've been trying to identify which of the lab's other rose blends this note reminds me, since Bulgarian rose specifically doesn't tend to show up all that often in listed notes - it's in Two, Five, & Seven, but along with so many other roses that it can be hard to pick out! This Bulgarian rose notes feels related to the lab's tea rose, but deeper, lusher, and more adult, if not as deep as the Peacock Queen rose - I'd say that it's pink rather than red. This is a duet which does what it says it's going to do, and if you want rose and coffee beans then you should go for it! I was intrigued by the idea of the combination (I'm not a coffee drinker but do enjoy the smell of coffee beans), but the experience of actually smelling like coffee is not one I think I'm going to want very often. Our decant will stay with us, but I won't need more of it.
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First straight up win of the season. Lavender forward while wet, quickly morphing into a sweet vanilla ice cream with a hint of cone as well. I agree that this worked for me when D. Putrescence didn't.
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London Fog Cream Pie
faeriedust87 replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
It's so delicious but I can't pinpoint the exact notes. I think there's tea and cake? It's definitely a gourmand scent. -
Fresh on it smells just like a really good gin. As it mellows it turns into a beautiful amber with a touch of fir and sage. I'm so going to wear this hiking.
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Yep, that's brick all right. How you make something smell like brick is beyond me, but it does, right off the bat. But this is more like a margarita than a tequila sunrise on me. I'm getting no cassis, just lime and tequila. Bright and sparkling and summery -- and brick. Super interesting and not something I'm likely to wear. But I'm happy I got to try it!
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2025. I had avoided the earlier iterations of this because I feared the agarwood -- oud can go tragically wrong on me. But this is beautiful. If there's oud, it's woody, not fecal. Roasted pumpkin, soft leather, patchouli, non-champa incense -- lots of cozy autumnal goodness. After a while I get some sweet-tart pomegranate floating above it that wasn't apparent at first application. Really nice.
