galahad
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Everything posted by galahad
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In the Bottle: Copal and sandalwood with a faint whiff of vanilla On the Skin: Mostly dry copal and sandalwood to start but the vanilla emerges as it warms on the skin to tone down the woody notes. No obvious patchouli. The vanilla is buttery and thick, not my favourite form. On the Drydown: The patchouli rears it's head further into the drydown, adding an earthiness needed to calm the vanilla down. Nice but not my favourite of the Lupers so far.
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In the Bottle: The lab's glorious amber cream note and a subtle citrus muskiness On the Skin: As above but with the amber cream much stronger. The bergamot emerges to give a really beautiful fresh and creamy combination the the amber cream. This is a beauty! More brassy than gold On the Drydown: Drydown is a musky ambrette supported by the amber cream and still a waft of bergamot. Beautiful and multiple bottle worthy.
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Rendezvous With Her Lover Behind the Rice Straws
galahad replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Lupercalia
In the Bottle: Milky musk On the Skin: Dry and slightly green hay. I still think there is a refined musk in this. This mellows fairly quickly with the rice milk note to a smooth and sweet almost mahogany scent. On the drydown: On the drydown, this is sweetish and creamy with a sharp edged muskiness. The hay is more prominent and bone dry. Lovely -
In the Bottle: Green and tart fig with a backing of musky vanilla On the Skin: As in the bottle but very tart which I like. The vanilla picks up fairly quickly and it's a perfumey vanilla as opposed to foody. On the Drydown: Drydown is linear, remaining zingy with a backing of vanilla musk. Overall, the blend is quite perfumey. I love it.
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In the Bottle: Softly rosy, salty and ozonic. On the Skin: initially, quite muted. Dusty-dry, very subtle rose and amber with that interesting musk, which is full and deep. On the Drydown: While the power of this never really ramps up, remaining understated, it is a real beauty and has lasts longer than expected. The rose never overpowers and the salt note is awesome, adding an edge.
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In the Bottle: Nutty cinnamon and grass. Nice On the Skin: While the nut note was, initially, alarming, it melds in with the dry grass note and the lemon myrtle emerges. Lovely, smelly very dry and toasted. perfect for the theme. On the Drydown: Almost bakery foody. The lemon myrtle takes a front seat as it does, underpinned by the other elements. Gorgeous, unique and masterful.
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In the Bottle: Salty musk. I get the corn chip vibe but after a couple of weeks this is less noticeable. On the Skin: Surprisingly warm and very salty. Somewhat savoury. On the Drydown: This remains warm and toasted, intensely salty and delightful.
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In the Bottle: Creosote and sage. Herbal, dry and a little nectar-sweet. On the Skin: Beautiful dusty herbal. Extremely dry and wild. If you missed out on The She-Goat this is a very similar especially as it sweetens on drydown. On the Drydown: I'm so glad I blind bought 2 bottles of it. It is dry desert scrub in a bottle with a touch of nectar sweetness.
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In the Bottle: A deep musk with a herbal edge On the Skin: intensely musky, bit it's a round edged musk with no sharp edges. There a a slightly foody element to this adding creaminess and a berry note (?). On the Drydown: Indigo musk with dark flowers. Complex and beautiful, a little unsettling as well
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In the Bottle: Very salty and cold in the bottle. Musky On the Skin: Deep and dark. Cold. The salty/ozonic qualities amplify with the warmth of the skin. The florals are lovely, just on the verge of screechy but never getting there. On the Drydown: As this dries down, it amalgamates into a salty aquatic jasmine. Jasmine is not a note that I normally enjoy but I am really liking this. It goes through a short phase where it smells gritty and tarry and then back midnight florals.
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Tassili NAjjer, 4000-1500BC Tonka bean, red clay, rose tobacco, and oudh. In the Bottle: Rosy tobacco and dust On the Skin: Definitely a dusty clay note, which I love, tobacco with a subtle rosiness and a little woody oudh in the background. On the Drydown: Seems like there might be a bit of whiskey in this. Overall reminds me of a cross between The Writing on the Slate and Flickering Lantern. It has low throw but is tenacious on the skin. Pretty - softly dusty rose tobacco
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Kumiho is a good stayer on me. Also Cthulu for an aquatic
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Wilde Vicomte de Valmont The Bow and Crown of Conquest Tombstone Coyote Tristan Western Diamondback Banded Sea Snake Not sure if the Carnival Diabolique ones are available as samples
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Cornelis Saftleven Dust, dry incense, parchment, and tobacco leaf. In the Bottle: Incense with a sepia edge. On the Skin: Blooms immediately on the skin and is so beautiful. Incense but with a lovely clay dust note and parchment mustiness. Overall it's dry but also full of depth, preventing it from being one dimensional. On the Drydown: It's the tobacco leaf that ends up adding some sweetness to the blend in the end. Ends up like the memory of incense infused in fabric, like curtains. I like the mustiness but then I love The Center from American Gods
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Hey...my opinion only Streets of Detroit - I don't get a lot of motor oil from this but I quite like it Jareth - haven't tried it but is often compared to Dorian so unlikely to be too sweet Snake Oil - worth giving it a go. Some adore it (like me) and some don;t much care for it depending on skin chemistry. If you read patchouli as incense you may not like it. I don't find it overly sweet but it does tick the spicy box Miskatonic University - my first BPAL fail but others love it TKO - love it. The lavender balances out the vanilla quite a bit. I don't find it overly sweet. Consider Bengal, Dee, Morocco, Tristan
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If he likes Cool Water then Vicomte de Valmont and Wilde should definitely be on the list. One of those is a very close match. Can't remember which but both great The Bow and Crown of Conquest Dorian, of course Coyote Dee Tombstone (!) Sherlock Holmes, perhaps The Black Rider Crowley Tristan
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In the Bottle: Narcissus and cold night air On the Skin: The narcissus is very prominent and lovely, almost watery (as opposed to the heavy narcissus note). Amber and frankincense keep this from becoming sharp and the other flowers in this are vaguely powdery (but the whole blend definitely is not). This is a gorgeous, round, dark and cool and vaguely spicy blend. On the Drydown: This really softens rapidly as it dries down further but doesn't become faint, just loses it's initial big and bold opening. I'm a sucker for any narcissus blend and this is a lovely addition to the collection
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In the Bottle: Apple and clove On the Skin: Cooked apple with the skins on. The clove is more subtle when wet on the skin and the whole is sweeter and creamier. On the Drydown: As this dries, everything melds together nicely but the apple remains nicely up front and centre. This is warm, comforting and sweet but not overly. Very nice
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In the Bottle: Black musk, quite oudh-like and a sour kick On the Skin: Straight up black musk and oudh. Gradually the labdanum sweetens and smooths out the blend and a very slight blackberry note murmurs beneath. Doesn't take long for the whole to become a delightfully sleek musk with a touch of sweetness On the Drydown: A little tart berry peeks though as this dries down further. Was hoping for more blackberry. This is a very dark blend and should be magical after prolonged aging. If find it a little funky as it is now.
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In the Bottle: A floral goaty cream On the Skin: The nectar is apparently fairly fruity. Loving the goat's milk note, which is almost buttery and the sweetness from the honey I assume. On the Drydown: Liking this more on the drydown as the goat's milk gains a footing to give a savouriness amongst the sweetness of the nectar and honey. The drydown on this is so interesting and really quite nice. I would say this is really foody but its perfumey and almost floral as well. I don't think this will be in regular rotation but it has a warmth that I enjoy
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In the Bottle: Patchouli and sweet cream On the Skin: That caramelised patchouli is really interesting with a slight charred edge. The cream is less evident but the honey more so. On the Drydown: The honey and patchouli play tag on this one, with each taking turns to amp up. The honey is less clear and sweet and more dark and golden. The cream mellows it all out but is pretty subtle. There is slight spiciness to this on the extreme drydown. I like it but it needs time
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In the Bottle: Polished wood is right - smooth and slick with sweet patchouli On the Skin: Copal jumps out immediately and I love copal! Sweet smooth wood and patchouli. It reminds me somewhat of Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements without the creaminess. On the Drydown: This is a darkened version of El Dorado. It's all gleaming dark wood and golden copal with enough patchouli to add some earthiness and keep it grounded. Glorious and will age spectacularly. Worth getting a couple of backups to cellar
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In the Bottle: Dry, golden hay and sweet flowers (with a honey-like nectar quality). Surprisingly sweet but in a gentle way On the Skin: Ah, this is stunning. It's pale but warm and sweet as well. The flowers are very prominent but delicate. I am loving the lab LE florals lately. A honey sweetness underlays everything but it's not a thick sweetness, more like the sweetness of pollen with flower nectar. On the Drydown: I had high hopes for this one and it turned out way better than expected. The perfect floral to wear on those early autumn days which are actually still a little uncomfortably warm, but the world is starting to slow down and the light is golden. On the extreme drydown I would swear there is actually a little vanilla and nutmeg in the mix
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In the Bottle Definitely get the bay rum, whiskey and cigar smoke. Spicy and boozy On the Skin: Bay rum is prominent to start with but not harsh, tempered by the other notes. There is a distinct saltiness as this dries down further. The cigar smoke note is not a charred smoke scent but the fragrant tobacco of a cigar with just a tinge of singe. On the Drydown: Everything blends so well together but can still pick out elements. The black pepper rears it's head well into the drydown but never overpowers. This is a beauty. Dark but elegantly so
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In the Bottle: Tart raspberry with a creamy base but it's all about the raspberry in the bottle On the Skin: Softer raspberry, tempered by the creamy goats milk but still an awesome berry scent. As this starts to dry, it becomes less berry-forward and little more perfumey red fruit but still lovely. I was expecting the goat's milk to be more animalic but at the moment it's just creamy bit not as thick as full on cream. On the Drydown: This stays pretty linear on drydown, remaining a perfumey raspberry with a touch of milk. I thought this would have been creamier. I like it but hopes it ages well