strahlend

First impression – very much that cherry red musk that reminds me of head shops. Skin testing – same as in the decant. It's like a summertime red musk though because often times it is paired with heavier or spicier notes that make it seem rather thick. This is much lighter and more wearable. I'm not getting myrrh. Any brown musk and leather are soft and smooth. They do come forward after a few minutes, the musk and leather. But all together this still feels on the lighter side of musky leather blends and it is a welcome alternative to the super thick heavy blends those notes usually appear in. Pretty and nice. Much more on the incense side. Late in the dry down it's still a lovely incensey presence wafting around. Long lasting, but never overpowering, an unusual combination. One of my two favorites in this series.

Review of scent only: Lemongrass is the dominant scent. It combines with the lavender to create a sort of sweet and tart fragrance. (not sweet-tarts candy)

I can't even believe how good this smells. The whiskey is pure like in Mad Sweeney. The opium and candlesmoke give a soft, hazy, sweet base. Very atmospheric. The notes all blend together perfectly. Sultry and boozy. Exactly what I wanted!

Goes on sharp and green ivy and pine. Some sweetness comes in really quickly, I think from the dark musk. The musk and green notes immediately blend seamlessly together and smell like walking in the most fragrant, sweet, pure forest ever. I think it's either the black pine or birch tar that's reminding me of the pine sap note in Pickled Imp, also the pine pitch in Illustrated Woman. The ivy is sweet, reminding me of the english ivy note in The Black Tower. The dark musk is a great partner for these foresty green notes and the blend is beautifully cohesive. If you're a fan of dark musk and you like the pine sap and pine pitch notes in the blends I mentioned, I think you'll really like this. I'm not getting the pepper or a distinct impression of cedar. This might sound crazy, but later in the dry down it almost reminds me of Shalimar. Late in the dry down this is all black musk, all the time. Puts me in the mind of Haunted because it also has a dark musk and cologne vibe to it. This is gorgeous. Very glad to have a bottle!

When it's first applied I feel like I'm smelling the sharp bite of ginger. In just a few moments though the amber and vanilla are blending with the carnation beautifully. The spicy carnation is really coming forward and the vanilla and frankincense are providing a lovely sweet base. I don't usually care too much for lemongrass but here I think it's keeping the sweet notes from going over the top. Something in the carnation is reminding me of cinnamon without being cinnamon, if that makes any sense. Startled Toad has a lot more dimension to it than it might initially seem. The notes keep playing with each other in different ways and all of the stages are delightful.

The amber is dark and sweet. The vanilla and tobacco give dimension and depth so there's no danger of wandering into powder territory. Eventually it reminds me of a slightly more musky version of Morocco. The proportions of amber to vanilla to tobacco are such that they blend perfectly together and none of the particular elements dominate the blend. Warm, sweet, faintly resinous, with just a little edge to it.

Super buttery sweet. The coconut and macadamia are rich and lightly nutty sitting in a cloud of vanilla cream. Reminds me of a white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie I used to get from a coffee shop.

@Minh Scent I can't quite remember Hellfire, but judging from my notes it does sound very much like what you're looking for. This is the note I made for myself, "dark, musky, tobacco, incense. It smells strong. I love this scent. At first it was musky and had hints of sweet tobacco and soft leather. Later the sweetness seemed almost more like honey with the tobacco and leather. It was sweet, warm and musky - very inviting." If you're looking for more recommendations, I might add SN French Tobacco and Frank Burns, easily one of my favorite tobacco scents.

@Minh Scent, I haven't tried 5 or 6 on your list, but based on your preferences and working from what you have here, I would recommend Interfector. Personally, I got more of a fresh wood vibe from Perversion, Ogun reminds me more of sweetgrass, and Elegba leans heavily toward the coconut and rum side. Interfector has more of the dark wood and sweet tobacco vibe that fits in along the lines of Antikythera Mechanism and Dracul.

Skin testing – upon application I think this smells really good. The resins blend really interestingly with the honey and wine and lilac. It almost seems chaotic, but there's something holding it together. The lilac is pretty and warmed with the honey. The wine and crimson tea leaf must be adding the bright note here that is keeping things bouyant. It's warm and sweet and a bit on the resin side. The lilac's warm resiny sweetness reminds me a bit of Lysander. Lysander - Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin. Looking at the notes, it kind of makes sense... maybe? I put on Lysander on the other wrist and they were remarkably similar with Lysander having a more powerful presence and more longevity.

I don't know why, but to my nose this smells like wet, milky, cinnamon bread. Not as sweet or as pleasant as one would wish. It doesn't have the sweet counterbalance that cinnamon scents usually have. There is something distinctly bland - yet still cinnamony. Not to my taste, but not unpleasant. Edit: Also the only BPAL that has ever given me a red rash.

Goes on smelling like Mariposita and ends up smelling like Dorian that has been slightly softened with the addition of gentle resins.

Exploratory sniffs from the bottle reveal a good many of the listed notes, dark musk, tobacco and even a bit of currant and a nice round patchouli. On my skin I'm getting something pungent in here, like black pepper and a hint of vetiver. It's sharp and kind of dry.

This is a mainly smooth sweet sandalwood-vanilla scent to my nose. It's very bright smelling, not at all foody. I think it's the saffron. It's quite unusual and gorgeous. I don't smell pepper in here at all.

My first impression was that it smelled a lot like rootbeer. In the drydown it reminds me a lot of Snake Oil in that the dominating notes (vanilla, patchouli, incense) notes seem really similar.

Starts off reminding me of an almond spice cookie sitting in a pile of dry leaves. Then comes in some fresh evergreen boughs. Then some apples that have been dried in a big oak barrel. Now I'm getting some dried wood and maybe some hint of currant or tart berry. In the drydown it's mostly dry woods and a hint of evergreen. Like being in a forest and the scent of spices waft in the air occasionally. It's a very lovely winter scent and while I'm happy to have a partial bottle I would love to see this in the Yule rotation.

Interestingly, Mermaid opens up with the candy notes from Elephantine Colossus. It reminds me of kettle corn. That fades off pretty quick though and what emerges is a very mildly minty ambergris. I'm not getting anything floral, orange, or vanilla infused. There is something that's keeping this soft aquatic musk on the lighter side and I would guess it's the tiare I'm smelling. Not what I was expecting, but a pleasant scent.

first sniff – smells smokey and woody like vetiver and liquid smoke. Reminds me of Agnus Nutter or something similar. Skin testing – goes on smelling like strong campfire smoke. Pungent. Strong. Like being nose to nose with a campfire of a wood I can't quite name. This is a real wood and real smoke scent, which is amazing. It's just so strong and so intense that it feels almost too on the nose, so to speak. My partner, however, loves smokey wood scents and perked right up when I mentioned this scent and is happily skin testing right now. If he decides to get a bottle I certainly wouldn't mind smelling it on him, it's just not for me.

First sniff – I get the tobacco and a hint of pepper and some of the resin and a faint hint of black musk. Skin testing – very sweet and chewy tobacco scent. I also get the pepper. What started out as a tobacco single note has softened into a tobacco that has a slightly soapy muskyness to it because of the resins and sandalwood. The tobacco note is still out front and talking kind of loud. In comparison, French Tobacco single note goes on a bit more high pitched, VII is much more sweet in comparison. They both end up in the same ballpark, but VII initially has a lot more dimension and roundness to it, as would make sense when comparing it to a single note. In the end, it's a lovely scent, just not for me.

First sniff – I'm only getting the lavender, it is of the thick and sweetened variety, as opposed to the sharp and astringent kind. Skin test – simple concept, brilliant execution. My favorite of the bunch so far. Gorgeous sweet lavender. This is one of those scents that needs to be given a chance on the skin, sniffing from the bottle or decant won't do it justice. I think this scent would be easy to overlook, but it really is lavender perfection in a bottle. I have lots of other lavender scents in my collection, this one is by far my favorite. I can only think to describe it as smelling your most favorite lavender bush, but better. Edit: my initial reviews are always so optimistic. I have a bottle of this now and realize that it smells very similar to Villain.

First sniff – Something interesting is happening here. The pepper is combining with something to make this unusual almost chewy kind of scent. Skin testing – The pepper comes on strong. Sort of musty and spicy. Like a closet in an old house filled with pepper corns. After a while it settles down, but it still smells more peppery than anything and is not entirely enjoyable.

First sniff – I get the patchouli and honey and some spice. The honey could be a deal breaker. Skin testing – it's lighter than I would think. Almost a hint of flower? Smells like cheap chocolate chips? Perhaps that's the vanilla. The honey doesn't make me happy. It's just not a note I like anymore. Dries down to a gently sweet mildly honeyed patchouli. Makes me think of what Womb Furie smells like in late dry down.

First sniff – this does smell faintly of oranges and incense. Skin test – goes on with a lot more orange citrus blast than it smelled like in the imp. Usually burns off fast though. Some time later, it's still pretty orangy, but the champaca is starting to mix in. It is staying a citrus scent, I'm guessing it's in part due to the verbena. It reminds me a lot of Wake.

First sniff – I get the vetiver, but after that this is quite an unusual scent. I'm not sure if in a good way or not. Sometimes dark notes with a fruit are nauseating to me, but this is more interesting than gross. This is the winner of the most unexpected scent out of this group. Skin testing – goes on smelling as it does in the imp, which is to say a bit confusing. There is an aspect to this that feels like if you sniff too deeply it will singe your nose hairs. This vetiver is potent and pungent. I feel like I can smell the apricot in there, but it's a lost cause.

I agree with all above, it smells like cherries and dragon's blood in a way that is much nicer than it might sound. I also detect a bit of cinnamon. At this point my son said that it smells "like candy." In the drydown I'm smelling mostly a lovely dragonsblood with just a slight hint of tart sweetness from the cherry.