Amoraexcena

Definitely reminiscent of my beloved Paper Phoenix, without the lavender. At first it's very much a sweet tea-and-lemon scent, with a bit of vanilla bean and incense smoke in the drydown. My favourite ménage à trois is Vanilla Bean, Marshmallow & Benzoin, and this is a close second. Super glad I got it. I think vanilla bean is overtaking bourbon vanilla as my top vanilla variety lately. It's just the perfect amount of non-cloying sweetness and blends seamlessly with other notes.

Upon first application, the palo santo wood dominates, swirled with incense smoke. The woodsmoke dissipates within ~30 min or so, the ash blown gently away, revealing sweet, golden resin treasures embraced with a soft patchouli (not dirty on my hair/to my nose). This drydown stage is to die for. I think it can layer well with pretty much anything at this point, but I especially like this with other sweet smoky scents like Liz, or golden-resin scents like Haloes, L'Estate, IBT, Flickering Lights, Tattered Lace, and Hesoid's Phoenix.

In contrast to the black and white label art, this scent is warm, sepia-toned. This is an old-fashioned sweetbread soaked with lemon sugar and topped with creme fraiche, next to a cup of tea. I can't detect much musk, maybe a hint of it farther in the drydown, but something's keeping it from going full-on-foody. It's a really, really pleasant, wearable gourmand perfume from start to finish. This is what I want to wear to a high tea with some fancy friends. I'm comparing it side by side with original Dorian - my bottle's an early 2010s vintage I believe - and the latter is quite a bit more cool-toned, not as sweet, and more musky. Both are gorgeous. This is another Yule that I want to get another bottle of before it comes down...

In bottle and wet, it's bitter, somewhat herbaceous neroli single note, which was a bit of a surprise. I'm not a huge fan of neroli on its own. But as all the other reviews mention, thankfully on my skin as well, the other notes bloom beautifully. The champaca is similar to the champaca incense note in Sugared Lace, plus the gossamer-light vanilla makes it a cousin of that holy grail. For the first while these are all I can detect, but eventually the sparkling ambers peek out too. I was scared by that initial sniff, but I needn't have worried. I think you'd love this if you like lightly-sweet-floral-incense scents like Midnight on the Midway and Sugared Lace (like me!) Another winner from the epic Lupercalia 2024 collection.

Lovely sweet golden amber, bright airy ginger, and grounding oudh. This is the IBT I've known and loved ever since it came out 10 years ago. I wear this in hair gloss form all the time. It does have less immediate throw than the hair gloss, but my theory on this is that our hair has TONS of surface area - which means the scent molecules are flying off your hair and into your face all the time. Once skin-warmed, the perfume version does have some throw too, though it's rather subtle. I'm reminded of Failmingo's funny review of Glowing Vulva - I'd call this a golden bokeh sparkle scent, where Glowing Vulva is all pale pink bokeh sparkle scent. I'm very glad I got two bottles, because I'll be slathering this one. I'll also be layering it a lot as I do with IBT HG (Zorya P+IBT HG has long been my "go-to" combo).

Good night, and may you have the softest of dreams 🌛☁️ I like to wear a drop of TKO, layered with lots of Vanilla Bean/Marshmallow/Benzoin to bed. I've been rotating this combo with Paper Phoenix. GSCW is also definitely joining my sleep rotation. The lavender in this scent has a lot more camphorous coolness than TKO. It doesn't smell like mint, just reminds you of the cool feel of spearmint. The osmanthus and angelica is a great support too - I find that I like lavender better when paired with another flower like tobacco flower (like in Wreath of Snow) or here. There's also a soft creaminess from mallow and orris, and a touch of vanillic sweetness. I used to not like lavender too much but Beth's blends have long since converted me.

Exquisite - and expensive - incense hits your nose as you enter the salon. The ladies stare at you, silent and inscrutable behind their perfumed silk lace fans. There is no sound except the soft swish of plush velvet as the most noble lady of the realm crosses her legs and deigns to look at you. You bow deeply to the Queen (Elizabeth). This is such a gorgeous blend. The oil is just slightly cloudy in the bottle, and what hits my nose first and foremost is the ambre noir, which I believe is black amber. It's got attitude, an edge, almost bordering on sharp - but still somehow subdued and refined. The patchouli here is absolutely not the dirty variety, and it's a grounding, supporting note to everything else. I get little dash of something floral - the silk note, I'm guessing. The vanilla is also not foody in the slightest, though it offers complexity and a little sweetness to the blend. I also get a hint of something salty, almost like ambergris. This is a very powerful one - a tiny dab is enough for me. Divine, complex, luxurious incense, 13/10. I need another bottle before it goes down.

This one is sickly-sweet in the bottle and I admit I was really intimidated at first and wavered on putting it on my skin. On my skin, I get a little more grounding from the patchouli to balance out the sweetness, which is a relief. This has some resemblance to Banshee Beat to me, due to the prominence of sweet vanilla and smooth patch combo (this isn't the rooty-earthy patch of Occupy, it's more similar to the one in BB - I really like this patch!). But it's definitely a different beast. It's creamy and a bit funky around the edges. "Cream mousse" is so apt - it smells like a very sweet dessert that's been infiltrated by tendrils of lovely patchouli. I'm not sure I'll reach for it enough to justify keeping the bottle, but I'm really glad I got to try it!

+1 to similarities to Kamisuki! It's a tad sweeter than that Hair Gloss, more emphasis on juicy sweet candied strawberry. Delectable, with the cherry blossom keeping fresh. The white musk is definitely not the sharp kind, it's sheer and gentle - it's almost undetectable here. Great for a sunny day during sakura season! I'm going to bring out my cute red and pink sakura-patterned yukata and wear this with it, it's perfect.

This is surprisingly foody on my skin. I'm getting a pillow-y soft French pastry filled with vanilla cream and dusted with lots of powdered sugar. It reminds me a bit of a simplified Midway. The frankincense is truly quite sheer and I wouldn't know that it's a note if it wasn't listed. I think I'll try this layered with Hope and Fear Set Free or Mummies of Mexico City - something very resin-forward and not as sugary, to balance it them out a bit and bring this into more gourmand territory rather than foody. I like this a lot for its layering possibilities! It's also gentle and approachable and pleasant alone - something I might wear when I hang out with little kids, perhaps (I need to compensate for my resting-serious-face somehow). I feel like my young nephews/nieces would like smelling this.

On me, this is a pretty potent, spicy clove, sweetened around the edges with creamy caramel milk. It's much more foody than what I usually wear (I like "perfumey" scents usually) but it's very enjoyable, surprisingly not cloying at all. I don't have any clove-forward scents in my collection, so this will fit in nicely. It strikes me as a winter scent - something to wear while curled up in front of a fire (well, a fireplace stream on YT 😅) with a mug of hot tea and a good book.

With the early cherry blossoms in Vancouver being absolutely battered by hail and torrential rain (😭), I'm wearing Cherry Blossom Vulva in a prayer that the weather stop being so jealous. Let us enjoy the ephemeral sakura please!!! CB Vulva is a sweet, creamy, pale-pink floral. The gardenia doesn't go sharp on my skin, thankfully. It's a fresh, airy, pretty spring scent. The kind of scent you'd wear on the first day that it's warm enough to wear a cute floral dress instead of the layers of fleece and waterproof gear you've been sporting for a little too long. It's gaining momentum in my perfume rotation lately, at least, certainly until the many bottles of Glowing Vulva I bought arrive at my doorstep 😆

I feel like we need a Vanilla Sugar-dusted Cinnamon Sufganiyot just for you, vanilla323 😉 (I would buy that too)

This is another scent that I had hoped would get a little more smooth and sweet with age, but it's mostly wood-powder frankincense on my skin. A previous reviewer called it birthday cake baked by trees, and I think that's pretty spot-on, though my skin seems to be eating up all but a smidge of sweetness. The Lab's frank note is often very dry and woodsy on me, and I usually prefer their golden amber, grey amber, and labdanum for resins, I think (La Lugubre Gondola being my favourite). I really have to be in the mood for a woodsy scent to wear this. Maybe it's a good hiking scent for the summer. I also think I prefer Mummies of Mexico CIty - that one, though I think it's also frankincense-based, has something that does the opposite of Hope and Fear and gets sweeter on my skin (it smells really austere-church-y in the bottle). They're all enjoyable still, but I'm still on the hunt for another sweet, syrupy resin scent like my beloved LLG.

On my skin, this is almost single-note geranium, with a tiny bit of supporting white and black musk. I was hoping age would bring out some smooth patchouli and sweet vanilla, but it doesn't seem to be the case. I have a lot of sweeter florals, laces, and black musk scents that I prefer, so I think it's time to let this one go to someone else whose skin chemistry doesn't sadly flatten it into pure geranium.

It's a fun red oil that doesn't stain my pale skin. At first, it's almost all beeswax (this is not an issue, I love beeswax). Then, frankincense blooms and plants its feet firmly on my skin. Definitely a church resin incense vibe, as others have noted. The other notes play around the edges of the frankincense, but I probably couldn't pick them out without the notes listed except maybe the ambrette seed's light, white musk vibe. I think I prefer this one as a room scent rather than on my skin - it's definitely got great ambiance. Pretty good throw and wear length.

Thank you so much for your detailed recommendations!!! I liked Edith Cushing and love Lyonesse, though unfortunately something in Lyonesse irritates my skin. Lyonesse is the only one that I've tested that does this in the 100s of BPALs I've tried. I should really wear it in a scent locket. I also own The Bride (love!), MLST, and Tamora - excellent recommendations, I feel like you've read me like a book! I'll have to try Victoria, The Torture Queen, and Illustrated Woman! And I"ll try to find The Silver Scimitar and The Haunted Beach. Thanks again!

I need to cheat a little, because I have a "light" top 5 and "dark" top 5. Light are my ethereal tobacco flowers, light vanillas, brittle ambers. Dark are my sugary incenses, deep resins, dark patchoulis, oudh. Light 1. Antique Lace (OG) 2. Zorya P 3. To a Wreath of Snow 4. Crinoline and Lace 5. Pediophobia Dark 1. Sugared Lace 2. Banshee Beat 3. Shadow Lace 4. La Lugubre Gondola 5. Implacable Beautiful Tyrant (aged, after which it gets deeper and loses a bit of the ginger-brightness)

Gorgeous sweet patch, welcoming, refined vanilla, and golden, resiny woods. This is exactly what I want my room to smell like. It's got just a little too much woods for my skin, but for my home? Utter perfection. This has aged incredibly too, as you might expect from the notes. This is kind of what I imagine the guest bedrooms of Rivendell to smell like.

Have you tried Dracul? It definitely evokes Victorian gentleman for me. Notes are black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom - it's definitely dark to me, with that black musk and tobacco, and a touch of floral orange blossom.

Plum is a note I have very fond memories of. I was pretty adverse to fragrances growing up (my father hated them). The only thing I used with fragrance were fruity Body Shop butters, and their scent dissipates quickly. When I started making adult money, and started to frequent department stores, I usually avoided the overwhelming scent clouds of the fragrance sections. One day though, I caught a whiff of a fruity-floral-musky scent that I really liked - Mediterranean, by Elizabeth Arden - and I learned that one of its main fruit notes was plum. I went through a short department store perfume phase after getting that one, and then a year or two later, was introduced to BPAL. BPAL's plum is fantastic, and this is one of my favourite iterations. On me, Shadow Lace is a musky plum oudh, sweet, dark, mysterious, and utterly gorgeous. Something in it also suggests lightly floral too, maybe it's a floral vanilla. I get a similar creaminess to Sugared Lace under that dark purple veil. Really, really lovely.

I remember getting a few bottles of Banshee Beat when it was on sale - I was iffy on it at first, because patch rarely works on me and hemp scared me a little - but the reviews had convinced me I had to try it. One of my best BPAL decisions ever! BB has aged gloriously - the perfect blend of sweet vanilla and high-quality, gently earthy patch and a touch of hemp. It's the patch I reach for most. I'm probably getting a bottle of the recent OLOP Feed Me and Fill Me with Pleasure in the hopes that it's similar to this beloved scent. I hope RR is re-run again one day so everyone can have some of this comforting loveliness.

I love scents in this family - Zorya P, To a Wreath of Snow - and always on the lookout for variations. Pediophobia has that stunningly realistic cracked porcelain note that differentiates it from its cousins. It reminds me of a haunted porcelain doll that someone has shattered out of terror, its white shards littering the floor, ready to draw blood. It's somewhat disconcerting and absolutely perfect for a scent representing phobia of dolls. The cognac, white tobacco, and vanilla definitely makes it smell like it could be a Lace as well ("Porcelain Lace" or "Haunted Lace" would probably what I'd name it if I didn't know its proper name). Honestly, that porcelain is so fascinating and it boggles my mind how Beth is able to make a porcelain accord that's so real. Unique, captivating, haunting. I hope this one either makes a comeback or something like it - Haunted Lace, for Weenies? 😍 - is released one day.

I'm going through my collection right now and trying to let go of some bottles that aren't getting enough love, and make some room for new. This is definitely staying. I don't remember which vintage this one is, unfortunately - I sometimes forget to log in to the site before ordering so I don't have full order history on me either. It's the label with 2 women, one with high-heeled feet/legs up. My guess is 2017. Anyway... It's gorgeous. As SO is wont to do, it's mellowed and aged into a gorgeous SO variant. The leather isn't medicinal to my nose, though it's not suede-soft either - I think of this as a high-quality, thick, brown pebbled leather scent. I get a touch of smokiness, not sure where that's coming from. Personally, I find SO a little too intense for me most days, and I think this blend is a little more wearable on my skin. Really beautiful. It's joining Batty Lace and CC:F into my autumn leather scent rotation.

I've been delaying my Luper order this year to wait for a few reviews, but I'm getting desperate for some nice sweet Shungas, so I'm wearing and reviewing some from past collections. This one is less vulva and more juicy fruit, as others have mentioned. I was looking for a peach- or apricot-centric scent at the time, so this definitely scratched that itch. The only other BPAL I have that has apricot is Haloes, and I find that one (though utterly beautiful) isn't quite apricot-y enough for when I want that lovely juicy stone fruit. This is a fresh, ripe white-peach-and-apricot fruit salad with a bit of light ricemilk syrup. I thought the amber and cardamom might become more noticeable with age, but not really! Still a sweet, satisfying stone fruit scent. Not much throw - I tend to slather this one more than I do with most other BPALs. I like wearing this with my Peach-Pulped Frankincense Hair Gloss if I feel like a tad more resin.