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- Past hour
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Soft, clean, pretty floral, very similar to Hanami to me. This goes on largely plum blossom and white musk, with a little hint of sharpness that I could see reading soapy but doesn't strike me in that way. The lilac and cherry blossom both come out on drydown, and it's a very balanced blend of the notes. Distinctly floral but at a little bit of a remove, like a painting of the flowers rather than the flowers themselves. After a while it turns mostly into cherry blossom, and it's a really lovely, pink, pretty cherry blossom. I like this, and will definitely keep and wear my decant, but I don't think I'm in love enough to get a bottle.
- Today
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Ohhh, I was hoping I'd like this one. No cream to bring things down! Plum blossoms! Clean white musk! But all I got was cherry blossom-tinged generic soap, which was just boring. Scrubbed it off and put on Cluster of Cherry Blossoms instead.
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This apricot is pleasant but subdued, kinda jammy with a touch of smoke. did not get much soil. the hay blends in gorgeously with the amber and fruit, and there is a subtle mentholated chill to the scent.
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I got a bit more of the orchid the first time I tested this, but on 2nd test, it lurks in the periphery with the earthy tobacco flower while the vetiver and oud take center stage. it's not a barnyard oud, the vetiver is a grassier one, and although the composition does lean toward a standard vetiver fragrance, I think the orchid keeps it interesting.
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This scent is so delicate that in the bottle I don't get much impression. However, on my skin it has incredible throw & opens up to a light floral with a slight skin musk moment. I really need 3 more bottles. Haha! Right up in my top 5 favorites. Deeply in love.
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This is a very masculine cologne scent on me. It's a heavy and earthy floral that would do well on an Edwardian gentleman. I am really enjoying it and I'm going to test it on my partner too.
- Yesterday
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This is mostly about the Embalming Fluid and the leather. The clean, lemony green tea of Embalming Fluid is the strongest aspect of the scent at first, with the leather increasing in strength over time, still doused in some Embalming Fluid. I swore that there was some dusty white sandalwood in this when I first tried it, but apparently, there is not! There is an aspect to this scent that I get after several hours of wear that I think is the white satin curtains -- I thought maybe there was something fabric-like with hints of orris and vanilla during one of my tests, but I think that was a fluke, as I didn't smell that during subsequent tests or when I tested this on my partner. (I'm guessing that another scent on my arm was interfering with this one during that test). So there's a softness to the fabric beneath the leather doused with a splash of Embalming Fluid by the end of the day, but there's nothing in the accord to take it out of clean Embalming Fluid and leather seat territory. I like this and will keep my partial bottle to wear when Weenie season is approaching and it's too hot to wear Weenies, but I still want to wear them. However, I don't think I need a full bottle, as I don't think there are many occasions where I'd prefer Embalming Fluid plus leather over straight up Embalming Fluid.
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This has CRAZY throw on me. The incense is unlisted, but there's a LOT of incense, some very sharp lily, and spicy-sweet ylang ylang. The sharp lilies die down after a couple of hours, and Flower Moon remains floral incense, with a hint of something sweetly balsamic, on me for *hours*. Seriously, I'm on hour 8 over here and still going strong. The projection's died down since this morning and it's definitely closer to my skin than it was, but it's still very noticeable. I went to try Flower Moon's accompanying hair gloss a minute ago, and I figured I'd reapply a drop of the perfume oil so I could better understand how they complemented each other. Possibly this was a mistake: the little drop of Flower Moon I reapplied has BLOTTED OUT the Passionflower & Wild Plum Hair Gloss. I feel like a walking cloud of incense. Whatever incense accord this is, it would appear I amp it. I wish I'd gotten more of the florals and earth notes! It was definitely a pleasant smell, just not what I'd been hoping for, and probably a bit too incensey for my tastes. I'll give my decant a month or two before I retest to see if it calms down at all.
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Terrible Moon: Coffee Bean and Cinnamon Stick Hair Gloss
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Hair
Treat this as more of an impression than a review as I haven't sprayed it in my hair yet. Alas, I didn't get around to properly testing this before it came too hot here to be wearing coffee scents, so I decided to spray it on a paper towel so I could at least share some thoughts on it before it goes away this week. This is exactly what it says on the tin: coffee bean and cinnamon. However, this reads as more perfume-y than a true to life gourmand to my nose. Both of the notes are prominent, but the coffee is the stronger of the two. I think this smells nice, but I'll content myself with the decant since I already own a bottle of Hunter's Moon: Coffee Bean and Incense Hair Gloss. -
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Sweet without being sugary, and creamy/vanilla forward without being foody. The saffron has a note that smells like rubber or plastic for a few seconds, but ultimately calms down into something that grounds the entire scent and makes it gender neutral. It's not for me, but I'm glad I got to try it.
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Roses have been woven into magic and folklore for thousands of years, and this oil reaches past the lovely sweetness of petal and hip. In addition to the rose’s association with love and romance, the rose's spiritual depths encompass blood, rebirth, resurrection, and immortality. The root carries all of this in concentrated silence: love that is not fragile, love that has come back from the frost, love that grew itself back from the cold, shadowed death of winter. The rose is an emblem of Venus, deeply associated with love, passion, and friendship across cultures, but she is also sacred to Aphrodite, Isis, Hekate, Inanna, Ishtar — goddesses of the underworld as much as the bloom. She lives at the crossroads of beauty and power, and her thorns and roots have always been part of its power. An earthy, patchouli-touched rose oil with a hint of oakmoss and vetiver.
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An oil for cultivating plant knowledge, green witchery, and deepening relationships with and understanding of plant materia. This oil sharpens plant communication, deepens your relationships with the green ones in your care, and to honor the long lineage of people who passed this knowledge forward through dark centuries so that it could arrive in your hands. Anoint your hands before harvesting, wear it when you study your materia medica, anoint your ritual tools when communicating with earth spirits. Contains: frankincense, hyssop, mitti attar, clary sage, milky oats, comfrey, oakmoss, patchouli, and hay absolute.
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Strawberry Moon: Kyphi and Sweet Cream
feyofthefellwood replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I love lactonic cream scents, so this was a win for me: heavy fresh cream with a golden, sweet incense note (almost strawberry ish? or maybe the name is just influencing my brain's interpretation). It reminds me a little of Aeode, Melete, Mneme, another favorite cream scent. -
My experience is not gourmand, but sugar crystals and sweet vanilla crusted over a distinct woodsy note that reminds me of the current mainstream mania for basso cedar/oudh blends (e.g. Dior Sauvage, although I would NOT call Slippery Elm Root a cologne). The longer it wears, the more SER separates into two layers: one woody and dry, one sweet and also dry. It's an interesting experience, and I'm keen to read other reviews now.
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Next in the big 'trying out all of these imps ive ignored for years' project. Imp from approx. 2019 A very heady blend that has a green champagne fizz to it. Reminds me a lot of a traditional perfume I have on my shelf, Moschino Fresh (the one that looks like a Windex bottle) , but the lily (and opium?) in this one gives it more throw and a more mature vibe. This feels very well blended but I think the headier florals make this too much for me.
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Beatrice and Dante is BEAUTIFUL on me, just gorgeous. As a lover of rose who is cursed with skin chemistry that sometimes rejects it, I'm very happy to report that not only is this a rose that works for me, but on me it's a very beautiful rose-dominant blend. It's an absolutely lovely, soft, enveloping sort of rose; I would agree with @OxfordComma that it feels plush and velvety. The note is described as "white rose", but to me this feels like a very soft, pale pink smell. Beeswax comes into play, adding golden warmth and a smooth, rounded texture that complements the rose beautifully. On initial drydown, if I sniff close to my skin I can detect a trace of peppery frankincense peeking out from under the rose and beeswax; then maybe fifteen minutes in, there's a shy touch of powdery orris that reminds me (in a good way) of old-fashioned beauty products, like when orris butter was put in lipsticks or face cream. This feels very lush, soft, and warm---it sort of gives the impression of slipping into a warm bath, scented with rose petals. The warmth in this blend is palpable, with a touch of spice and incense. It's quite pretty and sophisticated. A few hours in, it stays warm and pretty in a lovely musky sort of way. The top-heart-base note progression actually reminds me a good bit of The Moth Fairy; they share a similar structure with a floral opening, beeswax/orris/resin heart, and an amber base. I think this might be the same amber as in Moth Fairy, actually; it really does somehow feel sort of light and luminous. I reapplied about 3-4 hours in, and when I did, interestingly enough I started to get a bit of a sharper, spicier rose, as the myrrh came into play (might also be the saffron? not sure I know how to pick out BPAL's saffron note yet). Myrrh and amber are the last notes on my skin, but to my delight they remained quite rosy! Average throw, surprisingly good longevity on me! It lasted all day, and the rose stayed as a throughline the whole time. This is such a beautiful, complex, sophisticated floral, and it will absolutely be a bottle purchase for me.
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I was really hoping for more of the varied florals, but this is mainly strawberry on me. It first goes on a little fresh and grassy, like the snap of green stems, but the grassy green note almost immediately gives way to a LOT of strawberry, initially a tangy, juicy strawberry, but very quickly goes in a more artificial strawberry lip-gloss sort of direction that I don't really care for. An hour or so in, there's a touch of powderiness, possibly a pansy accord, or part of the silk accord, but I'm not really sure I can pick out any of the other florals. I might be getting the faintest whiff of cherry (not cherry blossom tho), but I might also be reaching here where I am in fact just smelling more strawberry. A few hours in, and I can pick up quite a pretty, pale honey, but combined with this strawberry it's a bit too sweet for me. The base note here is BPAL's lovely skin musk, with the lightest tinge of honey and fruit. I love skin musk, but I might have to flag BPAL's strawberry as a note that doesn't really work for me. YMMV, but on me it reads as a little too young and girlish. Projection is fittingly gentle, but the longevity was a bit better than I expected from such a light blend, got a good few hours out of this one (maybe 4-6?), as it goes through a traditional top-heart-base note progression, which I always enjoy. Probably ultimately not for me, but I'd be interested in seeing reviews from those of you who were able to get more florals! (And if you happen to have similar skin chemistry to me and love strawberry, you'll probably want to pick this one up.)
- Last week
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I don't often gravitate towards floral blends that aren't accompanied by a sweet note, but I really enjoy this one. I feel like I can smell the texture of the petals of the hydrangea note, but there's also a high-pitched aspect to it that reminds me of wisteria. I don't think it's sharp in a bad way, though, and, like wisteria, it has somewhat of a melancholic vibe to me. The sharpness is like that lump in your throat that you get when there's something you want to say, but you become overwhelmed with emotion, and it's hard to get words out. The jasmine in this does not smell indolic whatsoever and does smell pink and different than most jasmine used by the Lab, and it becomes more of a main player after the scent has been dry on the skin for several hours. The white musk lurks behind the floral notes, adding an expensive, yet clean quality to the scent. I am finding myself more drawn to straight-up florals more than usual as of late and wonder if I would have felt the same about this scent if it had been released at a different time in my life. This has massive throw on me, although it does calm down after it is initially applied, and it has great staying power, too, as it was still going strong the next day, before I took a shower. I think this is really pretty and will be needing a bottle before it goes away.
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Honey Dust, Patchouli, and Orris Absolute
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
I received a tester of this in a decant order. This features the toffee-like honey of the honey dust note. It's accompanied by lots of patchouli, and the two notes are a force to be reckoned with. The orris did not make me smell like I fell into a vat of baby powder, and it is very quiet here. Although this isn't something I could see myself reaching for, it was fun to get to try it. I would recommend it to those who love strong honeyed patchouli scents. -
This is a beautiful, warm, comforting blend. I acquire TAL oils to use them as magically intended; it’s always a bonus when they also smell nice and this one certainly does.
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When I applied this, the lotus came in WITH A STEEL CHAIR, followed by the sugared cream. Pretty much a fluffy floral candy explosion on me. It calms down once dry, and is pretty, but not for me, although the wear length is better than Mangetsu. ::sobs:: Right now it's cherry blossom cream candy on my skin, which is...nice? But as someone who already has a bottle of Cluster of Cherry Blossoms, my gold standard for Shungas, I guess that's a warning about creamy/milky scents in general, even with exceptions (Dildo with Boxes of Lubricants and a Plum Blossom Twig had zero cream in my hair).
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I’m surprised by how “juicy” this is, given the scent description and the reviews above: I don’t really get anything candy-like. No identifiable fruit notes, either, but that’s not a bad thing. (Sometimes I *want* to smell “like strawberries” but it’s okay to smell “like fruit” too!) Sandalwood can be really hit or miss for me, and here it is buried just deep enough that at first it offers a powdery puff base note, though with longer wear it tends more toward that plastic doll scent I dread.
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A cuddly, clean, sweet lavender blanket wrapped around you on a rainy day. Absolutely lovely. 🥰
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If you've ever eaten those expensive sticky licorice chews and said to yourself, "wow, I MUST smell like this..."- this is for you! Unfortunately I am absolutely one of those people and licorice is a guilty pleasure, so I very secretly adore this. It's really just strong, sticky licorice. For a few months there was a slight powdery element, but that's disappeared! (I have also mixed it with chocolate and patchouli...recommend...)
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Turned out to be one of my favorites ever! Milky sweetness, sticky caramel deliciousness with a bit of creamy fluffy coconut. Must remember to get another bottle before it disappears
