puellacaerulea

In the imp: Bright, summery grass and green herbs. The herbs stand out more than the grass, and it does have a weirdly sunwarmed quality. Unfortunately, the grass note is a skin chemistry fail on me and takes on a plastic-like smell on drydown. Going to skip a full bottle, but will hang on to my decant for scent locket use.

2019 version. In the decant, the Lab's dead leaves, with a bit of smokiness and a lot of red musk. After applying, the amber and tobacco start to come out more. The overall impression is dry, slightly smoky leaves and red musk -- dark, late-autumnal, but also weirdly cozy. If you like the dead leaves scents, this is one to check out.

Both in the decant and on, the most dominant note to me is actually the marshmallows more than the goat's milk -- I've tried a couple of very goat's milk heavy BPALs in the past that were stronger, creamier, and tangier, so I think I was expecting that to be the heaviest note. Not that this is a bad thing, as the marshmallow notes blend fantastically with the goat milk that I do get. It's sweet and creamy, but the lavender and white tea notes add a slight herbal tone that keep the scent from being cloying. I don't think I'd reach for a sweet scent like this often enough to get a bottle, but will hold onto my decant for when the mood strikes.

As a tea lover and a fan of clean scents, I decided to snag a decant of this. The clean linen note is definitely front and center -- I can pick up some of the tea notes in the background, especially in the decant, but the linen is the most dominant note for sure. I was hoping for stronger tea notes, so I'm probably going to pass on a full bottle, but will keep reaching for my decant when I want that fresh laundry scent.

In the bottle, I get a bright, heady white floral, and have a hard time picking out the orris. Florals aren't typically my jam, but this one's really pretty. As it dries down, the orris starts to come out, giving it a slightly dusty, soft quality without overtaking the moonflower note. I could see a floral like this being overpowering if there were too many notes in the mix, but this is simple and pretty, and I'm glad I went for a blind bottle. Medium throw; good wear length (about 6 hours in and my skin hasn't eaten it up).

In the decant: Strong red musk, patchouli, and clove. Strong, dark, and spicy (almost like dragon's blood), almost overly so. As the scent dried down, I found it growing on me a lot: the clove softens and fades, blending more seamlessly with the red musk. While the red musk and patch are dominant throughout, this morphs a lot during its wear time -- an hour in there was an almost fruity undertone (no idea what note is giving me that impression), and later that faded in favor of the saffron and red oudh. Overall impression: dark, smooth, musky, with just a slight spiciness. If this is evocative of red, it's a dark, saturated shade. I wasn't sure about this one in the decant, but I'm actually liking the drydown stage.

In the decant: Apple and honey, with something giving it a slight spiciness -- not sure which of the other notes to attribute this to. Bright, cheerful, a traditionally "fall" smell. After applying, the apricot and oak notes come out more and really make this scent stand out -- the apricot blends really well with the apple and honey, and the oak gives it depth and grounding that takes it beyond "autumnal candle scent" territory. Throughout, the overall impression is sweet fall fruits with a woodsy base; it's very reminiscent of bright, sunny, early autumn days. Considering a bottle purchase for this one.

In the decant and right after applying, I get strong, bright yuzu with lilac and violet in the background. It's a weird combo, and yet it works. As it dries down more, the amber, white musk, and orris get more prominent as the yuzu fades into the background. Overall, I get a lilac/slightly spicy violet blend, softened with the amber and musk and just a hint of yuzu to make it unusual. Definitely has a pale, ghostly vibe. Not sure if this'll be a bottle purchase for me yet, but will certainly keep using my decant.

In the decant: The dead leaf note is there, but there's also strong cacao -- the two notes combined are like a dark, bittersweet chocolate. After applying, the sandalwood starts to come out and softens the scent -- it's almost like sniffing a tub of baking cocoa, but in a good way. As time goes on, the cacao note fades, and dry leaves and sandalwood are the predominant note. Despite the strong cacao note, I definitely wouldn't call this foody, and the notes work incredibly well together. Dry, bittersweet, and definitely autumnal. Definitely considering a bottle purchase for this one.

In the decant, I get mainly aquatic notes and greenery. Once on, the sage comes out more, adding a sharpness to the scent, but the overall impression is still a clean aquatic and grass scent. Unfortunately, after drydown, there's a vaguely plasticky undertone coming through. I suspect whatever's providing the grass note doesn't play well with my skin chemistry, as this also happened with Take a Knee (another grass scent that went semi-plastic on me). It's not a dealbreaker, but it is a bummer, as that early aquatic/grass/sage combo is fantastic. Not sure if I'm going to spring for a full bottle due to the skin chemistry issues, but do want to try out my decant in a scent locket.

In the decant, I get a combo of lemon, verbena, and neroli -- super citrusy, borderline cleaning-product citrus (which I actually enjoy, but worth noting for those who are less into it). Once it's on, the amber amps up a lot and tones down the citrus enough to avoid any cleaning product associations. On drydown, this is still predominantly sunny citrus, but there's an odd sweetness to it -- I can't tell if it's the amber/citrus combo or the other notes. I keep going back and forth on whether it's overly sweet, but I'm currently landing on just enough. So, overall, a sweet amber/citrus combo that's very evocative of bright yellow autumn trees before the cold really sets in. This has good wear length, and I could see it working in both warmer and cooler months. Definitely will keep using my decant.

In the decant: Strong, wet dead leaves, with a bit of spice in the background. The spices amp up immediately, blending in surprising ways with the dead leaves. Unfortunately, my skin seems to eat up the spice notes on the drydown, leaving me with a faint whiff of dead leaves and black tea. The drydown stage is much drier and softer than the strong, wet, cologne-like DL that I get in the decant, and makes for a low-key autumnal scent. I probably don't need a full bottle of this, but will keep testing my decant (I'm curious how the spice notes work differently in a scent locket vs. on my skin).

In the decant and on first applying, this is strong cedar and fig -- the strong evergreen note I'm getting from the cedar almost makes this seem like a winter scent at first. As it dries down, the honey, oakmoss, and tobacco notes get a lot more prominent, overtaking the cedar and giving the scent an almost powdery character. After some time, the cedar is mostly hanging out in the background, giving a subtle woodsy undertone to what's mainly a soft fig & honey scent. I'm reminded a little bit of Lilium Inter Spinas.

In the decant, I mainly just get the Lab's dead leaf note. Once it's on, the cedar and vetiver come out and play remarkably well with the dead leaf note. The nutmeg's in the background, giving a subtle spicy-sweetness to the scent. If you're curious about the dead leaf scents but are scared off by the "cologne-y" descriptions, this is potentially a good one to try -- here, the DL note blends with the cedar and vetiver to produce something smooth, dry, and woodsy, without the cologne-y bite you can sometimes get from the DL note. This one lasts long on me, but stays very close to the skin -- a plus if you want something subtle. I'd also say the vibe on this one is very unisex. I need to test this a few more times before I decide if I need a 5ml, but I'm glad I snagged a decant.

In the decant: Thick, sweet amber, mandarin, and ginger. I think the patch might be giving it that thick quality, but it's not gnarly or dirty-smelling. Once it's on: The amber and ginger take center stage, with the apricot and mandarin brightening things up. The ginger stays strong throughout. This is like a deeper, more complex version of Carnal -- bold, fruity, and spicy, with the amber grounding everything. Definitely evocative of shades of bright, autumnal orange. If you like ginger, definitely give this one a go. Medium-to-high throw. Not 100% sure if I need a full bottle, but definitely hanging onto my decant.

2014 version, because I apparently never reviewed it back when I first got it: In the bottle: The Lab's dead leaf note, extra strong and sharp, with maple and something darker and green in the background (the cypress?). After applying: The dirt note gets more noticeable, while the dead leaves amp up almost to the point of sourness. On drydown, the sour note calms down, and the whole scent softens into a deeper, darker, more complex version of the Dead Leaves & X scents. When I first purchased this during its original run, I found the dead leaves too high-pitched and sour, but it seems to have mellowed out with age. Very autumnal in a non-foodie way, and I'm glad I pulled the aged bottle out of my stash.

In the bottle: Limes! Freshly squeezed lime juice; the musk is barely detectable. Once I put it on, my skin starts amping the white musk like whoa. After a brief vaguely-like-cleaning-product stage, this settles down to a soft white musk with just a bit of lime giving it a more tart undertone. I imagined something like Villain, but the end result leans a lot more traditionally feminine. Light-to-medium throw. Glad I took a chance on this and want more Duets now.

In the bottle, this comes across as lavender-dominant with other herbal notes, with the resins giving it depth. Upon application, my skin really amps the resins, but the lavender doesn't completely go away. After drydown, the heavy resins soften a bit. Despite the strong resins, this is relatively low throw, and it takes an effort to detect it on my skin after about four hours. Lavender and frankincense are the notes that stand out most to me, both in the bottle and while it's morphing on my skin. If you're not a fan of frankincense (or generally resinous scents), you might want to skip this one, but otherwise this scent definitely captures the grounding, peaceful vibe mentioned in the description.

This one's soft leather with a slightly powdery note from the amber. The opoponax makes the scent a bit intense, but not overpowering. Much like Villain, I really love this, but it definitely leans traditionally masculine, possibly too much for me to pull off. Still going to hang on to my imp and keep testing it, though.

This one morphs in some surprising ways. In the imp, I don't really get the honey or lemon, but mostly dark musks and something that reads like myrrh to me, even though I know myrrh's not in the listed notes -- the in-the-imp and wet stages remind me a lot of Wicked. As it dries down, the honey and lemon peel come out in a big way -- the end result is a sticky-sweet lemon, with some background vetiver murkiness. Alas, this one's not for me.

In the imp: intense, varnished wood. Once applied, it softens considerably, and the rose and amber notes amp up a lot. The end result is a very soft rose/amber scent with the wood adding some depth in the background. Unfortunately, rose tends to turn to baby powder on me, so I eventually wind up with a very powdery sandalwood.

Was frimped this in a recent decant circle order. In the imp and at first sniff, it's very sweet, heavy on the vanilla, and has something that reads to my nose as slightly boozy, despite that not being listed in the notes. As it dries and warms up, the sweetness mellows out a bit and becomes more recognizably cake-like -- more of a slightly dry than a cloying sweetness, with a very faint fruitiness from the currants. Overall, the impression is full-on vanilla cake. Definitely one to try if you like vanilla or gourmand scents, but this one doesn't wow me as much as other food-y scents like Cockaigne or Miskatonic University.

This scent went through two very different stages on me, which seems appropriate! In the frimp and for the first couple hours on, I mostly get bright, fresh citrus with maybe a hint of lavender -- otherwise, I have a hard time detecting the other notes. After a couple hours, the citrus has almost completely faded, leaving me with an earthy herbal scent. I find the drydown stage kind of meh, but I'm curious to see if/how the notes change with age, so I'll be hanging onto my frimp.

In my frimp and during the wet stage, I get primarily lavender with something sharp, dark, and almost medicinal -- possibly the labdanum note, as it's not the sandalwood or tobacco note I'd expect. After a while on, the nag champa amps up and balances out the sharpness I noticed during the wet stage. It does have a bit of a head-shop vibe, so maybe skip this one if that's not your thing, but otherwise it's a dark, rich take on lavender. It's a little heavier than what I'd normally wear, but I agree with other reviewers that this makes a good night/sleep scent, so I'll definitely be holding onto my frimp.

Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin -- fresh grass notes and a sweet vanilla that doesn't morph too much on me. It's actually sweeter than what I imagined, but not overpoweringly so. If you enjoy green/grassy scents, definitely give this one a try.