crebbsgirl

Wet, the woods take a predominant seat in this blend. There is a sharp note as others have mentioned. As it dries, the vanilla and tobacco smooth them out. I can see this is going to age beautifully. The throw for me is moderate, and it seems my skin is eating it up as I just applied it three hours ago and I can barely smell it. I really like it, but I'm going to age it to see if it gets even better!

I want to roll around in this scent. Wet, it's dark and woodsy. Slightly incensey. As it dries, the musks start to come out and it warms to a sweeter scent. Beautiful, and I'm so glad I bought a bottle. I get a soft floral undertone, but it just adds to the depth of the blend. I love this!

This is another blend where I can actually detect all of the notes. It opens with mostly the peach blossom and heliotrope. As it dries, the sandalwood, amber and vanilla bean all come out. The peach blossom fades to the background but it's still faintly there, offering a fruity overtone to the blend. It's got a fairly long throw on me, but it's so inoffensive that you almost don't notice it. It's a very comforting scent, pleasant. Normally I like my perfume a little more in-your-face and well, dirtier. But this might come in handy.

GAH! This one smelled like wet vegetation when first applied. Oh, so not good. It took about five minutes to settle and as it did I could detect violets and the lavender. Both on me are highly astringent. I usually require something quite sweet in the blend in order to wear either of them. Unfortunately, there was nothing sweet to temper these two in here. The vetiver didn't help matters as the two of us are rarely on speaking terms. Needless to say, this blend didn't work for me.

I can easily detect all of the notes here. Wet, this is ALL cherry. Almost a cough syrup kind of cherry. As it dries, the musk and the anise come out, and it turns to a cherry licorice scent. It's nice if you like fruity scents. I do not. And so, off to swaps!

Alright on me, this went to indiscriminate male cologne. I got the cedary-amber-spice with a bit of herbaceous edge to it but ultimately, I don't think this worked on me. Also, this had a LOT of throw for me. I just used a dot on my wrists and the woman across the room at work said she could smell me.

Good LORD this is awesome! I get a spicy woodsy scent with just a touch of patchouli but unlike some of the patchouli blends I have tried, it stays soft. This is really beautiful and complex. I don't get a manly vibe like some of the other reviewers did. The dark musk and woods are definitely the more predominant notes on me, but the spices give it more of a feminine touch. Also of note, this took awhile to develop. But when it did, it was gorgeous!

Unfortunately on me this was a fairly harsh violet scent. I was hoping to get more rosewood or chamomile and sandalwood but I didn't. I got a lot of violet rose. And I am not a florals person.

This starts out a little commercial for my tastes, but develops into something I have never smelled before. At first application, the black opium is very prominent. The opening is much like Anathema, but this disappears after about 10 minutes. The opoponax and laudanum lend an earthy grounding to this blend, and the benzoin sweetens it up just a touch. The black orchid remains an undertone here, so that the scent never reaches "floral" territory, but instead adds another dimension. I think I'll hang onto this and see how it ages.

Well this is the only scent so far that BF has gone so far as to ask for it's name. Up until now, his favourite has been O. This is a really intriguing scent. It has a smoky vanilla tone to it and I cannot identify any other notes. I can definitely see the similarity to Lyonesse as CaudaPavonis stated. It is a fairly dark scent but I can see the occasional flash of fire interpreted as a brighter/golden note that occasionally comes through. Overall this blend is really enigmatic, and I think I like it!

Ok, I don't get the cross between O and Snake Oil at all on me. All I get is ylang ylang. Almost to a headache inducing point. Which is incredibly disappointing because I REALLY wanted to like this one. (I love O and Snake Oil, so I figured how could I go wrong?) Poo.

Alright, all I got here is Cherry Sweet-Tarts. Which is weird, because I normally don't get a cherry vibe from Dragon's Blood resin. However, in almost every blend I've tried with a lotus note, I get some variation of candy in the scent. And I am not a girl who likes to smell sugary in the least. I don't seem to be getting any smoky notes like the other reviewers. On me, this is bright and sharp.

The jasmine was a predominant note on me, with the honeysuckle providing a sweetening influence on the astringency of the lavender. Very evocative of a French Quarter garden at dusk. I don't get a soapy vibe, but overall it's just to heady a floral for me.

Whoa something just reached up and slapped me in the face. Hello Black Opium!! After my nose cleared the blend began to settle on my wrists. I could detect each note individually; the black opium swirling around, the honeysuckle providing a brightening tone and the vetiver lending a earthy component. If you aren't put off by the wet stage, the dry-down is well worth it. This becomes a beautiful, dark sinuous perfume. This kind a film noir starlet might have worn back in the day.

I wanted to like this one soooo badly. It has everything I could hope for in a scent. Woods, amber, musk. Unfortunately, this smelled like woodsmoke. Not the sweet kind. Like the stale, stagnant scent of rotting woods. This is the only blend I have ever tried that my fiance asked me to wash off. Immediately. I let it sit for about 2 hrs, but it was causing him grief so I got rid of it. Off to swaps.

Oh I had such high hopes for this. Unfortunately, all I get is honey slathered ROSE! (Yes, ROSE! Not rose, but ROSE!!!!) Sweet and heady, all rose, all the time. Poo.

Alright, I may be right out to lunch here but on my skin, this is very similar to Lyonesse. I get a fairly bright scent (I'm assuming the copal), warmed by spices. The woods temper the sweetness of this blend nicely. I'm not getting very much rose at all, which is a good thing, as rose does NOT smell right on me ever. It's a little fruity for my tastes though.

I would suggest Belle Epoque or Shadow Witch Orchid. Both scream "little black dress" on me. Lyonesse is a good bet too, but I find that one much brighter than Belle or Shadow.

I'm shopping for Mom for Christmas. She's as much of a scent addict as I am and has been thoroughly intrigued by my obsession with the Lab. Her favourite commercial scents include Vera Wang Princess and Nina by Nina Ricci. (I've included this info because this gives her scent preferences). I found BPAL similarities but I want to get her an imp pack to introduce her to the wonderful variety the Lab has to offer. In essence, I want her to branch out. Here's what I've decided on:

 

Snake Oil - pretty much a universal favourite, vanilla-y spice

Alice - floral foody

Velvet - foody (I suspect she likes cocoa as a note)

Bordello - fruity

Blood Rose - floral

And I'm trying to decide between Fae or Baobhan Sith

 

Thoughts? Comments? Did I miss something?

Thanks eleventhousand! I'll probably stay away from that one then!! Now, to track down Haloes....

 

i find 51 to be a dead ringer for Clinique's Happy, if that helps at all.

& Privilege is very weedy and harshly floral.

 

I've been looking for a similarity to Princess by Vera Wang (my mom's favourite), and I'm wondering if anyone has tried Great Sword of War, 51, Les Bijoux, Privilege, Siren, Canaval Diabolique, or Haloes? The notes look to be fairly comparable:

 

GSoW - Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict.

 

51 - green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats.

 

Les Bijoux - Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh.

 

Privilege - Armoise, tuberose, white citrus, rose absolute, oakmoss, tiare, tuberose, vanilla, linden, and lemon tree blossom.

 

Siren - White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot.

 

Carnaval Diabolique - opium smoke, lemon flower, heliotrope, tuberose, black musk, vanilla, coconut, apricot flower.

 

Haloes - Oak, tonka, vanilla, white sandalwood, lily of the valley, white ginger, amber, and apricot.

 

Princess - Water Lily, Lady Apple, Mandarin Meringue, Golden Apricot Skin, Ripe Pink Guava, Tahitian Flower, Wild Tuberose, Dark Chocolate, Pink Frosting Accord, Precious Amber, Forbidden Woods, Royal Musk Captive, Chiffon Vanilla.

 

Thanks everyone!

This was a really warm blend. The rosewood, tonka and amber cut the sharpness of the lavender beautifully. The patchouli is incredibly faint here, offering just a hint of earthyness to this blend. It becomes a woodsy, spicy lavender that wears very close to the skin on me. I like it, but in terms of warm lavender blends, I prefer Gaueko.

On me, this is a fairly heavy jasmine when wet. As it dries, the oakmoss and sandalwood come out a little more. The musk doesn't show up for me until almost an hour or so in. But it's beautiful. I don't get any almonds at all, which is good in my case because almond is rarely a note that works for me. Overall, this becomes a bit of a woodsy floral on my skin, with just a faint hint of musk. It's a dark, mysterious blend. I like it.

I really like this one. It's sweet but warm and a little earthy. I don't normally go for sweet but this is just mesmerizing. And a little familiar smelling at that, but I can't place it. I'm rather surprised at this scent. I wasn't expecting to like it very much and I think it just became one of my favourites.

This is a very bright and golden scent. Incense-y and resinous without being dark. I can smell the amber, and what I suspect is frankincense or verbena (both of these notes smell similar on my skin). There is a definite herbal overtone here. I like it, but I'm not in love with it. I'll probably try it as a room scent.

This was a pretty heady blend, very attention grabbing, and a little goes a very long way. On me, I found it resembled the closest thing to a department store fragrance I've yet tried, and that's not something that appeals to me. The narcissus and opium really take the foreground in this blend. The myrrh wasn't as apparent on me. I was a little saddened, because normally opium and myrrh are big hits with me.