tinyvulture

I received this as a frimp. It's been around since 2004, apparently! A combination of violet and rose, where the violet is the stronger of the two notes. It's simple but elegant. I honestly figured if I hadn't gotten around to trying it by now I probably wouldn't care for it, but it's quite nice.

This reminds me of the incense they burn at my massage/reflexology place. I think it’s the opium! It’s alluring and mysterious. The main opium note is sweetened by a touch of honey, and the tart plum and berry notes are very gentle in contrast. A lovely mix of notes, glad to have a bottle!

Falling leaves and…licorice? Must be the patchouli and the way it interacts with the leaf note that brings to mind licorice. The woodsmoke is present after the first few seconds, intoxicating and heavy.  The red musk is surprisingly muted. I keep looking for it but I am really just getting the leaves and stuffy woodsmoke. This one’s a keeper for now, although the heavy smokiness might bring me to sell it in the future.

Clouds of sweet creamy marshmallow, rich and creamy, with plenty of candy-sweet-with-a-hint-of-tart black plum. What a perfect duet. Foodie and lovely.  Reminds me of those scented Strawberry Shortcake dolls of my childhood, as well.

A bright, cheerful herbal/citrus blend. The lavender and chamomile are sweet and soothing, balanced by the orange which adds an invigorating, happy vibe. It is indeed both calming and joyful as the description states. I was really needing to slather it on the past few weeks and it did help.

Here’s the black musk I recognize from In Night When All Colors to Black are Cast (one of my fave), and sugared violets – I’m such a sucker for sugared florals. There’s a whisper of sweet lavender, and the cola-like benzoin. Black as night but sweet and comforting, this one. So, so pretty. I’ll have to wear it to bed and see what my dreams are like.

Heavy baking spices. A very smooth, lovely cinnamon. Like the expensive shit.  And then, baked apple – mellow, sweet, not sour apple. Not as strong as the spices, but making its presence felt. And then sugary icing, a hint of vanilla. I am not picking up anything that shouts sweet potato but you know, its scent isn’t as strong as apple in real life either. I really like this one – some apple blends are too sour on me, almost vinegary, but this one is sweet and foody and just right.

I agree with previous reviewers who said it's like a fizzy cream soda, with coconut but also cumin.

I drink cafe de olla daily (coffee with cinnamon and brown sugar basically) and I'm getting zero coffee here.

I guess if I squint I get "deep fried" but I'm not really getting any hints of "ice cream" or "pie" (and I know the lab CAN do buttery baked pastry).

All that said, I don't dislike it. it just feels more like a tiki drink!

Edit: ok 10 minutes later this smells exactly like one of those Hostess coconut cream hand pies that my mom would put in my lunch in the 80's. *mind blown*

Never met a honey I didn’t like! Here, sharp herbal nightshade is drowned in thick, golden honey that almost reminds me of coconut suntan oil. Lush and sweet and sexy and a little dark and mysterious. Dang!! Love it.

The frankincense and stone remind me of Cathedral -- sacred, imposing. The slight earthy sweetness from the patchouli and rose offsets the solemnity a little. I love me some resin blends, so I don’t necessarily need to go searching for a  bottle but I’m happy to have my decant!

A clean, dry, powdery white musk with a slight vanilla sweetness. Like dryer sheets - almost makes me sneeze! It’s not particularly sweet on me from either the sugar or the honey. Just very powdery -- off to swaps where it can be better appreciated!

This vibrantly yellow oil is reminiscent of Lemon Sticky Bat - sweet, tart lemonade -- but with the addition of a pleasant honeysuckle floral background. Since I love Lemon Sticky Bat AND I love honeysuckle, it’s a win-win. So sunshiney and summery and sweet together, these notes.

Gentle plum blended with white flower. This isn’t a super-fruity plum-centric scent like Bordello. The elderberry flower really is the star. I’m only familiar with elderberry syrup, not the flower, so I can only describe it as a general white floral. That is not very helpful! But I do like it and plan on keeping the bottle.

Peaches and cream! How does this compare to Vanilla Wafers and Peach Cream? Here, the peaches are secondary to the cream. The peach note is less fresh and realistic. More like peach preserves cooked down with lots of sugar. I’m not really getting anything that screams marshmallow, just cream and vanilla. We had peach trees in my backyard growing up and this is the way the kitchen smelled when my mom would cook them down. If I was going to swap either bottle it would be this one, but I’m not, I’ll keep them both. More peaches for me!

This smells like cucumber, as groovyrooby mentioned. It’s super green and garden-y. There’s a waxiness though as well, that I can’t really describe but it. A waxy floral I guess. I’m not familiar with coral bean or phlox in real life, so I’m not sure what I am smelling. And I’m not sure yet if I want to keep or swap it. I think I’ll hang onto it and see if it grows on me.

The juiciest, ripest, sweetest peach with vanilla cream and a slight buttery wafer vibe. This peach note is so fresh, so realistic! Impossible not to feel bright and cheerful while wearing this one. So happy to have snagged a bottle!

I can never have enough lavender sleep blends! They really do help me fall asleep easily. And the lab offers such a great variety within this category. No two are identical. Here I love the blending of lavender with sweet vanilla and the bright floral tansy note. It's so happy and comforting. Sweet dreams assured with this one!

I love fir, pine, etc. blends. This is almost straight fir on my skin. Clean, sweet, green, and medicinal. The smoke is just, like, something vague in the background. Not acrid or heavy at all. If you want more smoke consider blending with Bonfire SN. A fine addition to my collection of evergreen scents.

Soft almond smoothly blended with golden amber and honey musk. A warming, glowing  scent. The honey is very light, so this blend is sweet but not too. I’m not picking up the tonka or peach at all.

A tribute to the earthy, succulent fig. I’m not getting any hazelnut. The fig it supported by the sesame and rice flower, which keep it from being too sweet. Yet they’re only faint in the background -- it’s almost a single note fig.  And I’m not a huge fig lover or anything, but happy to have tried this.

Pow! Apples and rosemary! In your face! A bold holiday blend that lacks the unpleasant sourness the lab’s apple cider blends sadly take on for me. Instead, these roasted apples have a slightly cinnamony, concentrated apple scent that’s just lovely. The rosemary cuts the sweetness with its soft herbal presence. I’m not picking up any other other notes -- no leather, figs, rum...maybe a touch of cranberries because there is a tartness that doesn’t seem to come from the apples. Vibrant and cheerful, I will wear this all holiday season.

 The chestnut and oak are really warm and cozy. There’s a very vague hint of clean, sharp juniper, but it’s muffled and smoothed out by the orris butter. The chestnut is sweet and caramelized and it seems like it’ll mostly be a gourmand blend, but then there are the other notes in the background that keep it from being 100% foodie.

Sharp clean notes of pine and birch linger in the background as earthy lichens and moss take center stage, warmed by raw amber. This is the scent of nature at its most rugged and untouched, with a slight sense of foreboding and hidden things, tricks of light against the trees.

Milk/cream sweetened by honey. Now, the honey note is not very strong. It’s just a subtle sweetness. I don't get the florals that others have spoken of. Brings to mind other lovely, creamy blends like Obatala (only, no coconut here!) or OG Chaste Moon.  No “blood” (metallic) that I notice. Maybe a touch of dragon’s blood incense? Nice to have a bottle since I’ll wear this anytime.

This is tough to identify, maybe it’s the olive blossom? Or the sweat? Because it feels sweet but also briney and salty, and also creamy from the orris butter. (I don’t like dry orris but I do like orris butter, weird.)  I’m not getting any cedar or sandalwood. I keep coming back for another sniff! I think it’s a keeper!