sarandipitee

Strong black tea with a pepper undertone. Ginger tickles the nose, but is softened by the milk.

 

My bottle is old (10ml sized bottles have been discontinued for nearly a decade) so the vanilla and honey are merely an afterthought.

 

The linen emerges so I'm left with a crisp white napkin, stained with the remnants of afternoon tea.

 

Very unisex and suitable for any occasion.

After the initial blast of carnation mixed with a very sweet vanilla subsides the red sandalwood pokes through and it melts into this glorious arid scent of spice on my skin.

 

I detect almost no cassia - its so amazingly blended that Im left with more of a tingle of its presence that the note itself.

 

Glorious blend, and one that every bpal fan should try.

 

Caveat: my bottle is close to 3 years old and I find this is a scent I much prefer aged; fresh is too much carnation.

I typically cannot handle any mind of aquatic note (instant headache), nor has there ever been a milk/cream note that didn't turn plastic or sour on my skin.

 

So it's pretty freaking miraculous that this works for me.

 

The milk tempers the (usually) harsh ocean scent and I'm left with a tingly sweet breath of sea air.

 

I like to wear it to bed sometimes (like I am now) as it's relaxing and subtle. Soft.

 

I swapped for a bottle, even though it won't be a scent that I consistently reach for. But when the mood strikes, it's perfect.

 

 

Help! My favorite scent Tombeur from Vampires Don't Sleep Alone is out of stock. What, besides Snake Oil, in the GC would you recommend?

 

Thank you!

 

On my skin, at least, Tombeur has some elements of Womb Furie or Smut (both of which are LE, but were available in many years) and Crowley (from the Good Omens series).

 

Thank you for the recommendations, I have Smut (2015) and on me it shares some of the same characteristics, but is very different from Tombeur. Looking at the notes of Crowley,it might be worth a try.

 

 

 

Definitely track down Crowley - it's dry down is very similar to Tombeur on my skin. Like, I was surprised how much it was similar (and I'm a HUGE tombeur fan - I've gone through 3 full bottles since it came out).

in the bottle: smokey clove and cinnamon.

 

wet on skin: sweet and syrupy. The clove is very evident and stays to the forefront with a whiff of cinnamon underneath. There is a very faint vanilla and if there's beeswax is nothing like my bottle of Light of Men's Lives (Sidenote: I amp cinnamon to high heaven and LoML is like a floral on me - skin chemistry is weird, yo). The bark makes it huskier so it never strays into foodie territory.

 

drydown: there's the beeswax and mixed with the vanilla/cinnamon bark/clove combo it's kinda doing a Chimera on my skin (darker and sexier mind you, but very reminiscent of that oil).

 

This has serious potential but it's going to take time. I'm going to stash my bottle for 6 months and see what happens since right now it's right on the edge of Yankee Candle territory on my skin.

Holy moley. This is hair gloss perfection. Not only is this a (slightly) lighter version of my beloved Snake Charmer - it's incredible at keeping my long ass hair feeling like silk.

 

I've tried a lot of glosses now, and this one is the absolute best in terms of scent and ability to tame my hair.

 

I only ordered 2 bottles and I really wish I could have afforded more.

 

This is going to be hoarded.

Ebon Night. It's incredible how much better I'm sleeping after years of insomnia. It works faster and more consistently for me than Baku, Nanshe, TKO and Nocturne. I'm so hoping it becomes a permanent part of the TAL lineup.

Unknown (Cat Allingham) : Distilled shadows, a bleak desert landscape at midnight: Myroswelia balsam, gaïac wood, obsidian musk, green cumin, patchouli, myrrh, Siamese benzoin, frankincense, champaca, and sand.

 

It's subdued because it's at night but it's very dry and sand like.

Chewy syrupy dark vanilla and a more aged oak, probably due to the tobacco. I hated it when I first tried the imp out 4 months ago but I'm thinking I need a bottle. Will need some aging to smooth it out a little since while I'm dogging the sweetened oak, the tobacco is a little harsh.

Goes on all rich, ripe peach when wet and becomes a heady and sexy geranium. Which is odd for me because I loathe geranium, since like most florals I amp it like crazy. It even overpowers the patch which is unheard of with my skin chem.

 

The raspberry leaf makes an appearance as an edge of green and the carnation comes through as a bit of spice but this is pretty much a fruity geranium.

 

It's very lush and dead sexy and completely not my style.

 

I may need a bottle.

Eek! First. Ok, I'm not the best at reviews and this is fresh outta the mailbox.

In bottle: Rich sandalwood with a sweetened, deep patch and a whiff of ambergris.

Wet on skin: Sweet,creamy with a sharp edge as the Haitian patchouli comes to the forefront.

Dry after about 10 min: Smoky patchouli - kinda reminiscent of a bonfire night I sampled last year but MUCH smoother. The tobacco is VERY soft in this so I don't get the raging headaches it can sometimes cause. The blackened sandalwood blends beautifully with the patch but I've lost most of the vanilla sweetness. I'm not very familiar with immortelle so I can't comment on whether it's appearing here or not.

Verdict: For a blend with such strong elements it stays very close to skin on me. The ambergris helps to temper the patchouli and the more time passes the smokier and softer it becomes. I'm really not feeling any of the vanilla cream but I think the benzoin is there. I'm just amping the patch so much that I'm having trouble picking apart notes.

This is a definite keeper just for the fact that I think even in 6 months I will be crazy about it based on how I really do like the wet stage.

Very happy I bought a bottle and I will edit this when I retest tomorrow.

This is very much a sweeter Goblin on the dry down - in fact, for someone who amps cinnamon like whoa I'm surprised I don't get any. Im very happy with it, but I'm gonna age it for a while and hope more of the honey and cinnamon show. I was really happy since sometimes bourbon vanilla can be bad on me but it was very behaved and worked lovely with the patch.

 

Side note: I am someone who prefers Goblin over Banshee Beat so I also would say if you love BB try this one out.

I wish I had gotten this one after passing it up (had a horrid cold when I tested it on Thursday and it sold out before I was feeling better when I went back to the booth on Sunday). The apple and red musk combo really is pleasant together but the patch ran everything over so I moved on. 3 hours later I'm in line for a panel huffing my arm because it smelled fantastic after the patchouli settled.

 

I think everyone who got it will dig it - but I agree, definitely retest and age for a while before you swap. This is going to be sought after.

The leather overpowered everything is this blend (as its apt to do on my skin, very few leathers work) eventually drying down do a sweet but stanky leather note of doom.

 

I think aging would work wonders for those who can wear most leathers or like clove and booze but it's not for me.

This is awesome wet but on drydown it's all patch. Which is not awful... but I want opoponax! I need that to sweeten up the musk and smoke and patch. These notes should in time smooth out but right now I'm unsure whether I should spring for a full bottle because it's a little rough for me right now. Will for sure keep the decant and tuck it away for at least 6 months.

Wet this is a green, fresh pumpkin coated in a syrupy wax note. Not bad, but I may only need the imp unless the drydown blows me away. So far it's all baked cinnamon with pumpkin innards.

oh my GOD. This is IT. MY PERFECT PUMPKIN. It's HIGHLANDER epic (there can only be ONE!). Like, I've tried other pumpkins. But they were always too buttery or potpourri or all cinnamon on my skin (here's looking at you Jack, Pumpkin Latte and Blue Pumpkin Floss).

 

BUT THIS. Oh man. It's love at first sniff.

 

It might be the booze note - BPAL's alcohol tends to like me (Devil's Night 2009, anyone?). And the clover honey is divine. Honey either loves me or becomes a stinky powdery mess. Here it's behaved. And the cinnamon spiciness which usually I amp to high heaven doesn't overpower.

 

Insta bottle!

Niiicceee. Perfect balance of pumpkin and snake. Needs a little aging - I will have to pick up a bottle and tuck it away for a few years until it becomes GLORIOUS. I have a feeling this will be crazy sought after in two years.

Sweet and fruity with an underlying sharpness that gives it the feel of something sinister and goblin like. Someone mentioned amber and I think it could be - this dries down to a perfumey fruit salad. Don't dislike it - but I'm fine with the decant.

Tombeur is in my top 5 scents! On my skin Crowley is really similar to Tombeur, just with a subtle lilac instead of lavender.

mmm... there's that cola, syrupy smell I LOVE so much about Old Demons of the First Class and Fetish.Goth. Sweet and light resiny goodness. Really happy I had my lovely fairy get me a bottle. Knowing how well my myrrh blends have aged I'm excited to tuck this away to the end of Summer/early Fall.

I ALMOST passed this over. Rose and I have a horrible relationship. I ask her to tone her shit down and she always has to be the CENTER of the damn universe.

 

Here, she's almost behaving. Just being a TINY bit demanding.

 

At first this is the richest, thickest, chewiest coffee with a syrupy undertone. It's perfect. The best freaking coffee I've ever smelled.

 

And then the Rose arrives to the party. She's a young blossom - a little tarted up, but that's ok. The dance off between Rose and Coffee is spectacular; an epic showdown that results in this heady, sexy as hell final number of a drydown.

 

The Coffee stands aside just enough so that Rose feels like she's won. But in reality, they perfectly compliment each other. She stops from being a screaming floral, powdery headache and he remains on the cusp of being too foody.

 

I've got no idea where the cardamom pods or the buhur factors in but I don't even care. I'm hoping over time they may peek their heads out and stop being such wallflowers with some age but for now I am content.

 

This will be a scent I more than likely wear just for me, but I am totally happy with that.

 

HUGE love to my C2E2 pick up fairy - you're da best!

This goes from being fresh toothpaste when wet to a bland sort of cologne on drydown. Off to swaps!

oooh, I like this. This could be my new favourite Lace after Black. It's a rich, deep clove a little sweetened but kinda creepy and dark at the same time. I'll definitely keep my decant and my source out a bottle.

Metallic spice which dries down to burnt rubber on my skin. It's in the top 3 of epic BPAL fails on my skin. I don't think I can even use this in an oil burner which is sad since I LOVE pickles.