Amoraexcena
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Mmmm. My silly little dragon has cavorted quite vigorously in the vanilla oatmeal cookies and is thoroughly covered in spiced, sweet crumbs. My guess is that the wool note is closer to Stekk (marshmallow-y) than fabric, I'm really not getting anything that's holding this back from being full foody. I'm always a little nervous about almond (sometimes it can go very bitter-fake-cherry on my skin), but happy to report that it doesn't do anything of the sort here. I do get a nice milkiness. Very cozy and I can see how it sold out at Dragoncon, though I probably didn't need to get 2 bottles - I have too many lovely foody and gourmand scents and only occasionally wear them - but I'll definitely keep one!
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Idle Moon: Jasmine Rice and White Musk
Amoraexcena replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Absolutely love this! It's definitely reminiscent of The Moon Reflected in Every Rice Paddy, my favourite Luper hair gloss ever. I can be a bit wary of some types of jasmine, but this is very gentle jasmine rice, cool and slightly milky (thought not really lactonic-scented, more the texture of milk) and musky.-sweet. I'm really glad that the reviews convinced me to get a bottle. I've always wanted a Moon Reflected perfume version, this scratches that itch perfectly. This is also a little simpler and more layer-able. SO happy with this! I hope Beth considers this bringing this type of scent back again for the next Lupercalia💞 -
I'm enjoying a rich, sweet macademia and honey nut bar while reading a leather-bound tome in a cozy, beeswax-candle-lit library. A very lovely fall gourmand, I can see why it sold out at Dragoncon! I try not to buy too many foodie or gourmand scents anymore because I truly have too many to use in my lifetime, but I'm glad I didn't pass this one up. Beautifully balanced, definitely a crowdpleaser.
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Darn. In the bottle, this one has some complexity and promise, on my skin the white iris overwhelms everything else, it's practically an iris single note. ~30 min in, I can occasionally get a ghostly hint of something else undernearth that's shifty and gauzy and compelling - but I take a second closer sniff and it's all iris again. I'll let it sit for a bit and see where it goes, but this is likely getting passed on to someone whose skin would appreciate it more.
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Sweet Incense, Soft Musk, and Autumn Leaves Lotion
Amoraexcena replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lotion
This is my first BPAL lotion and it's a lovely texture, a creamy whipped formulation that sinks into my skin well without any stickiness. While the lotion sinks in fast, the scent remains strong and true. The pump bottle is easy to use. The scent is autumn leaves first and foremost - dry fall leaves still retaining all their vibrancy. The scent is quite complex and different from the dead leaves note - there's no decay or dead-ness here. This note is very sophisticated and something I imagine an elder green witch would wear to a formal fall dinner event with fae forest leadership, not an everyday cozy, dirt-under-your-nails scent. I do believe it's the same note from Autumn Overlooked my Knitting. The incense comes next, and it's a gentle support to the autumn leaves. I can't actually detect the musk. I've been layering this with the Vanilla & Tobacco Flower duet and it's quite lovely. I'll be adding sweeter vanillas, ambers, and musks on top of this lotion and probably won't wear it alone - it's a layering scent as Beth intended! There are a LOT of layering options I want to try out. This lotion definitely adds +10 vibes points for my dog walks down colourful deciduous-tree-lined streets in the fall. -
Black Butterfly Moon: Vanilla and Tobacco Flower
Amoraexcena replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
+1 to everyone's noses that this is not a sweet/sheer/ethereal vanilla + tobacco flower, which was admittedly what I was initially hoping for (I do love Zorya and To a Wreath of Snow...) BUT, I'm happy to say I do love these kinds of chewy, earthy, gently sweet tobacco + grounded-vanilla scents as well, so I'm quite happy with this - I'd say it's in my top 10 of duets and trois. It's warm, wearable, and cozy, and I'd personally love to smell this on both myself and my husband. It's already beautiful, but I also bet this will be glorious with a year or two of aging. I'm regretting not getting a second bottle, actually. -
This is the smell of Aphrodite's seashell that she sleeps in. It's a lightly mineralic fruity, creamy floral, and sexy in a I-just-woke-up-dishevelled-and-ravishing sort of way. Very much a Lupercalia! Unfortunately I think the orris is amping a bit on my skin and it's pulling a little soapy. It reminds me of A Girl Knitting, but I prefer the creamy-fruity-clean-fabric smell of that one on me.
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RR 2025 version! I missed out on the previous RR release, but I do have a bottle of OG Banshee Beat which I enjoy a lot. In the bottle and on my skin, this is a bit of a strange camphorous-fermented-fruity-herbal scent and I can barely detect any patchouli. I was really surprised by the fruitiness and thought perhaps this was a rare mislabeled bottle. I was mistaken - this is a morpher - on my skin, the fruit-like scent dissipates in minutes, the mint-like camphor calms down, and the earthy patch emerges. While not identical to my aged Banshee Beat, this is recognizable. I wasn't expecting them to be identical and I do recall that when I first got BB, the camphor was more prominent, so I expect that age will make these bottles more similar. I'm really curious though what it is that my nose is translating as "fermented fruit"! I'll be cellaring these bottles for a while since I still have OG BB, but I'm happy to have these backup bottles. BB is one of those scents that screams must-have, "quintessential BPAL" to me.
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The Dregs of a Bottle of Vanilla Extract (Discovered in the Mud)
Amoraexcena replied to doomsday_disco's topic in The Edward Gorey House
What a fascinating scent. What starts as petrichor and mud and wet clay morphs slowly into a pretty, young gardener-witch's scent. The ethanol-vanilla that emerges from the mud makes this very much a fragrance you wouldn't hesitate to put onto your skin, though initially I thought this would be better suited as an outdoor atmo spray. This is 100% what I'll wear while gardening, or maybe a pottery class. -
The gentle warmth of dappled sunlight on your skin. This is distinct, but reminescent of other "golden" sandalwood scents like L'estate and Haloes. This is the softest, subtlest of the three, with a very demure, very mindful throw that plays beautifully on my skin. Some of BPAL's honey notes amp too much on me, but I'm getting none of that here, it smells maybe like a supporting wildflower honey to the main players of sophisticated sandalwood and skin musk. Not too sweet. I could totally imagine this being the scent of a sacred liquid filling the holy grail. Reading just the notes of this I probably wouldn't have sprung for a bottle, but I'm in love. Thank you so much to previous reviewers for convincing me to get it! I might get a backup or two before the Lupers come down. This is so pretty and wearable in almost any situation. Also slatherable.
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To a Wreath of Snow is one of my favourite scents, and I've bought 5 bottles (and have finished off 2 already). One of those bottles is identical to this hair gloss version; it has an elevated lavender that pushes tobacco flower out from centre stage. I really hope that this scent returns as its original form one day, because it's perfect - a harmonious minor chord played on the piano, a little melancholy, and heart-achingly beautiful. This lavender-forward version is really nice, but not quite buy-another-5-bottles-worthy for me.
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I always thought of lichen as the dry corn-flakes of the natural world. But because of Lace Lichen and Ambergris and Lichen, I was really curious what real lichen smells like. I found bits of lichen on trees in the nearby park today and sniffed them. Often they smelled of moss and dirt, but one little piece smelled a bit like dry green powder. In contrast, both Lace Lichen and Ambergris and Lichen are juicy. This is what I would imagine you'd smell if you crushed a plump little leaf of a succulent. I agree with the above reviewers that this has some a plant milk/sappy feel. Ambergris, as usual, is a clean sweet-and-salty vibe. After an hour or two of wear a lot of the juice has dried, leaving behind just the pale green orris face powder. This is quite nice, and while I don't think I'll need a backup, I can see myself reaching for it when I feel like cosplaying forest fae or wood elf. Actually, I recently got myself an Arwen cosplay (her pale green coronation gown, and I made the matching crown). I can definitely see myself wearing this with that.
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This is so airy and fresh that I'm imagining a fairy with gossamer wings. Something (the silk?) has a pale green floral feel that's giving verdant spring vibes on my skin. I actually want to try this with Druid, or maybe even Elf (is Aasimar-Elf mixed race a thing? I'm not too familiar with DnD). I got this along with Dahlia (and a bunch of other bottles), and I must say if you're looking for cardamom, you're barely getting a smidge with this, I can't detect it at all. If you want cardamom, go for Dahlia. This is a pretty skin scent, definitely glowy and pure and light.
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I need to come out first and say that I'm not usually a fan of cherry scents at all. In fact, the uncanny valley between almond and artificial cherry is one of my least favourite smells. Generally, I'd consider cherry to be one of my "death notes." I'm pretty careful about the scents I buy that has cherry in it. But I don't actually believe in real "death notes," unless it's an allergy - I think everything is execution. And the execution on this is chef's kiss - literally. This is black cherry and blackberry compote - gently cooked, not too jammy, still has some juicy tart freshness - cradled lovingly by a thin crust of flaky pastry. The Sufganiyot is there largely for texture. The smell is a gorgeous dark fruit compote with an emphasis on the juicy black cherry. It's mouthwatering. You can practically taste this. It's SO realistic, but simultaneously it's the fruity, not-too-sweet cherry pastry that is so perfect that it can only exist in your dreams. My last order from the Lab was FULL of wins, nothing I didn't like. This one was the one I wasn't totally sure about, but it too was a resounding winner. Definitely the best cherry scent I've ever smelled. I'll be wearing this in the summer a lot. I might have to get a backup with my next order.
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In the bottle, this is a blast of almond-marzipan. Marzipan isn't something I've ever enjoyed, so it's a little scary putting this on my skin. And immediately on my skin, the blast of sweet almond veers dangerously close to sharp fake cherry, which I can't stand. The uncanny valley between almond and fake cherry is one of my least favourite smells. BUT 2 minutes later, this morphs into a thick, sweet vanilla cold cream blended with fondant, with the tiniest smidge of plastic clown doll. It's so neat how this smells treacle-thick, coagulated, smear-able, despite how gentle the scent is. It's also pure, brilliant, titanium white - so unnaturally white that you're kind of suspicious about it, like you want to know if it's hiding something sinister and dark underneath all that unmarred, perfect, sweet whiteness. This is one of those scents that makes me wonder in awe at Beth's artistry. What a joy to be able to experience the craft of a genius.