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- Today
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My first impression of this was sexy paper, and later “a perfect peony scented envelope” and I’m not sure I have much to add to that. It’s an unsweet amber, and the peony throws a good bit. almost feels too fancy for me even though it's quite simple and sniffable!
- Yesterday
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It started out heavy on the sweet jammy blueberries and a dry earthy chocolate. On the dry down I lost the chocolate almost completely but the tea and spices started to come out. Overall on me this was sugary blueberries and tea with a teeny tiny bit of spice. For some reason I didn't really get any spices until that was all that remained of the scent after it faded. I don't totally dislike this, but it's not for me. Something about the blueberry goes kind of plasticky on me.
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This is, unsurprisingly, extremely similar to the Matthew 18:6 perfume oil, which is also honey and champaca (in that case also with sandalwood). As I love Matthew 18:6, which is my favorite champaca scent, this is good news for me! The honey note in this hair gloss has slightly more astringency than in Matthew 18:6, and as a scent the hair gloss feels overall a little less balanced, but it's still beautiful; luxurious and sensual. If you like BPAL's take on these two notes, go for it! I'm not sure I'll end up going for a full bottle of this - I already have Hair Loosened for a honey-focused hair gloss, and that one is just so wonderful and complex that I don't know how often I'll want to choose honey champaca over it. But I'm glad to have my decant, and look forward to pairing it with Matthew 18:6 for a full champaca experience.
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Wet it was a easier to pick out the individual notes, I think I was able to pick out everything besides the cassia. Dry, it all blends together and I lost all of the earthly loamy-ness that I liked when it was wet. On my skin, this is honey and clean laundry with just a touch of incense. Overall it smells nice, but I think my skin chemistry made it go a little too soapy for my taste.
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For some reason, this is primarily a creamy floral on me - not jasmine tea, but jasmine with some tea in the background. I can't really make out the resin notes, though the jasmine is well-grounded and not shrill or soapy. I also don't get any lemon. Chemistry is weird.
- Last week
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2026 version. I see why many people have loved this; there's something very special and particular about it, and I think it's a beautiful showcase for the saffron. There's something almost uncanny when wet, the way the earthy-body heat quality of the saffron almost tips medicinal to my nose (I can see people have a lot of different comparisons to describe this quality, it seems a little ineffable) and is faintly unsettling in combination with the creamy vanilla. But on drydown the whole melds together into something truly beautiful. It's the fantasy version of making saffron ras malai over the stove, but all the complex facets of the saffron take it firmly and decisively out of the realm of the simple gourmand. Confident without being overpowering, with solid longevity. I love bpal's saffron note, and adore it particularly in A Robe All Red with Dripping Gore, but I think Love's Philosophy brings out different elements of it. I want to spend more with it, and with the rest of my Lupercalia decants, but I think this is likely to be a bottle purchase for me.
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Like a delicious cucumber lemonade on a hot day. I was worried the lemon would go too sharp on my but the sugar cane keeps it mellow. Really beautiful scent
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When the world outside is overcast, this envelops you in a fuzzy pinkish-gray blanket that has just tumbled out of the dryer and has all the comfort of a favorite stuffed animal. Faded purple and pink flowers swirl in a steaming cup of tea with a gentle breath of rain from outside. Even the grays of the sky are softened by clouds. There is no storm looming, as Eyesore would probably fear, just steady rain and a blanket fort to hide under until he glimpses the sun again.
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Agreed with the above reviews - this is a bright, cheerful apricot when wet, with all the delicate facets of that apricot: golden fuzziness, sharp juice, almost osmanthus-like floral quality. The bergamot adds a citric perfumed feeling which makes it feel more pulled together as a scent. On dry down, I get creamy musk, I think the same one from Glowing Vulva (at least the hair gloss version, which is all I've tried); it's smooth and sensuous and calming. The vanilla is subtle; I can track it, but probably wouldn't identify it as such if I wasn't looking for it; I wonder if it might come out more with age. This is a very lovable, appealing scent that I think would feel equally appropriate across many settings and moods, and I think will be perfect for the summer. I don't wear fruity scents all that often, so will have to see how frequently I feel compelled to wear this one before deciding whether or not to go for a full bottle, but it's certainly a contender and I am very glad to have a decant.
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Very soft and lightly sweet with almost no throw. It seems to disappear on me almost immediately. I'll have to do a retest once it's aged a bit, because I love pear scents and really want this one to work.
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I bought this fully not knowing what to expect, but I'm pleasantly surprised. In the bottle, this is sweet, and I'm definitely getting both the cacao and bourbon. On the skin, it becomes beautifully warm and creamy. It actually smells somewhat fruity, as well, and I'm wondering if that's coming from the raw cacao. I'm grateful that the bourbon doesn't take over, as that was the only note here I was feeling intimidated by. Overall, it's a very rich smell, so I can see myself not using it as an every-day wear, but it will likely be in heavy rotation.
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At first this is a beautiful bright grapefruit—very pink, perfectly sweet-tart, and balanced with a pretty halo of sultry skin musk. When dry I get a hint of the cognac that lends a paradoxical sweetness/bitterness. The bright grapefruit burns off a bit and I’m left with a mature musk with a hint of icy grapefruit and amber.
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I get a lovely burst of lavender at first, but it quickly mellows into a creamy, mild fresh coconut and ube scent. I agree with the above review that it’s earthy, mildly sweet, muted, and creamy. It’s nice and calming, but I would really love for that pretty, bright lavender to stick around.
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Terrible Moon: Cardamom and Black Amber
elissamay replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Out of the bottle, I was shocked at how much I hated this. OOB, it smells almost like Irish Spring or something along those lines. After a very, very long rest, after venturing to put this on my skin, I was able to find the cardamom, but the freshness still boggles my mind. I don't remember black amber having this intensely fresh, almost aquatic quality to it in any other black amber blend I've tried. If you love aquatics or fresh scents, and you have difficulty finding that kind of vibe paired with a sweet spiciness, this is absolutely the blend for you. If you're expecting something darkly resinous with spicy cardamom, this one (at least for me) isn't that. -
Dark sweet cherry and a swirl of tropical fruit! A hint of cream in the background, just enough to add some rounded, well, creaminess, but it's not overly dairy or buttery. I really like this one! (Also a lot of my husband's family is still in Manila, so we love it when the Lab does all the Filipino-inspired scents!)
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This doesn't smell like crème brûlée to me, but I'm not mad, because it still smells GLORIOUS. Freshly applied, it reminds me of if you took Vanilla Mandarin and replaced the mandarin with passionfruit and threw in some sugar. Then it morphs. the passionfruit disappears, and for some inexplicable reason, it reminds me of whatever is in the House of Mirrors Atmosphere Spray from Denver Comic Con 2015 that makes it so alluring (wuuuuuuuuuut). And then it morphs again and becomes the most wonderful toasted sugar scent backed by a bit of vanilla. I could not stop huffing my arm. I'm most definitely upgrading my decant to a bottle (or maybe two).
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This starts off strongest on the crushed grass, and I swear it's the same one from Emerald Lace, as the wet phase of the scent strongly reminds me of that one. Eventually, it ends up morphing, and the oolong tea becomes the dominant note. It's the one found in Ceaselessly By My Side the Demon Stirs, which has a tannic quality to it and something that reads like a touch of spice. I get touches of the white musk and moonflower with the tea note, but the green mandarin isn't distinct on me -- I'm not getting anything particularly citrus-y or fruity from this. I preferred the wet phase of the scent when it was very green instead of tea-centric, so I don't need a bottle.
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Oh this is gooooood stuff. The dragon's blood is gorgeous mixed with a herbal lavender fir. It does have a bit of smoky incense at the back of the scent. LOVE. It really could be a sleep scent. I'm so glad I got a bottle of this.
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There were so many great Yules this year but this might be my favourite? Soft gingerbread, cuddly brown musk, and a dusting of warm patchouli. It's so comforting. Baking unhinged gingerbread cookies has been a family tradition for decades and this is the perfect scent for that. Spiced baked goods and cozy vibes. Not super foodie but not not foodie. Great throw and longevity.
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This starts out very leather centric with a splash of an aquaticy-cucumbery thing that I've heard other people get from some lab paper notes, but I don't think I've encountered? There's something vaguely chemical/dye feeling that I often get from old book themed perfumes. I'm assuming it's something used to add a dustiness or aged feel but that reads really wonky to my nose. It's not as strong here as it has been in other scents, and burns off quickly. This dries down to well kept leather bound books, mixed with worn clothbound books, and a bit of old paperbacks. Maybe something like soft incense, but that may be an errant woody note. I can't fully shake the aquatic note, which ends up smells like cool damp air. Kind of adds a feeling of being inside on a cool day with the windows open and it's gently raining. It's not terribly strong, but it's a nice 'clean but cavernous bookstore' scent.
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Unlike the other reviewers, I'm getting almost no lavender; it's creamy coconut and muted earthy-sweet ube, with a bit of pineapple-ish brightness that must be the cherimoya. I have to hunt for the lavender.
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This smells like those butter cookies that come in a tin that your grandmother recycled into a container for her sewing notions. The pretzel-shaped one with the rock sugar in particular.
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Strawberry Moon: Blackberries and Coconut Cream Lotion
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lotion
This reads as a candy-like blackberry scent to me, like a fruity taffy. Imagine there were a blackberry-flavored Mamba or Starburst. It would smell like that. It's not a fresh blackberry, nor is it the wonderful baked blackberry of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. I don't get any coconut from this on my skin, but I'm fine with that. I like the scent and will keep my little sample pot and use it up, but I don't think I need a full bottle of this one since I don't really have a lot of scents that would go with this. -
In the bottle, I'm getting exactly what I expected from this: leather and amber. It does go weirdly soapy at first on the skin, but then the leather makes a comeback, and it's back to exactly what I expected. I don't wear leather often, and it's maybe a bit too masculine of center for me to wear myself, but I really enjoy this perfume and would love to smell it on others. It's quite subtle and unobtrusive, but it lasts for forever.
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Man Making Love to the Maid of a Samurai Household
bambi replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
In the bottle, this is very fresh and green. I'm getting a bubbly, nose-tingly ginger, lemon, and green tea. On the skin, the ginger is less ginger ale and more ginger, but still the strongest note. I often lose lemon as a note the longer I wear a perfume, but the lemon in this one sticks around for a shockingly long time. The cedar was almost invisible in this for the initial stages of wear, but it did join the party eventually. It does give a lemon ginger tea vibe, but I enjoy how fresh it is.
