SophieCedar

Huh... my scent profile has changed with chemistry over the years, apparently. When I 1st started collecting in 2009, I woulda made a finger cross and hissed at Seraphim. Now? It speaks wonders in my ear, just reading the notes.

Its straight-forward, no fuss, wonderful clean florals with grounding enlightening frankincense. The wisteria has staying power against the calla lily, I'm surprised. Overall color/texture impression is ivory tulle with eyelet lace. Anyone getting married soon? Grab this!

The honey oudh is sweet and resinous. The bourbon vanilla is quite dry, so maybe that's what people are talking about when they say woodsy? Not getting much woodsiness as previously mentioned. Overall, syrupy oudh and dark alcohol vibe vanilla, like pure distilled beans. Color impression is gossamer golden brown. Its a deep, booming, rolling, trance-like scent on me and I love it.

Allegory of winter showcases a perfect marriage of iffy notes & definite wins, resulting in higher confidence that I don't need to ban all scents including iffies. 2 iffy notes - crimson musk, coal. 3 wins - brown leather, amber, and blood orange.

The wet phase is lovely. A burst of blood orange and amber, glowing red by the inclusion of crimson musk.

Drydown smells like an old armchair. Warm, comforting, leathery, cozy, and a bit musty. Crimson musk and coal go a bit mealy but lets just contain my anxiety about them, shall we? Overall, a positive exposure therapy experience.

Fake News, I love you. I mean, in real life I hate you but, in oil form I love you. Reverbing the whole expensive luxury perfume thing, here. It smells like how you want to be treated at a luxury boutique.

Wet: WWWHHHOLY JEBUS...smells identical to original release Prada Amber unisex perfume>> Sephora's extremely limited stock, it sold out in a few days and it was like $110 for 80ml....yea.. well, this was when Sephora was King Shit....hahahaa! The mass market release done in 2008 IS NOT the same. Original I'm talking about is much richer.

Dry: slightly like CK's Euphoria now? Well the pink pepper has sweetened and whatever the leather/musk/resin combo was has smoothed. I still love it. Now that I think of it, the cascade from BLAST during wet to calm waters in drydown matches BPALs intended evocation, right?

Good work lab, good work. <3

I wanted this to smell like goths stuck at a family holiday party, rolling their kohl laden eyes and frequently sneaking outside to suck down clove cigarettes. Yep. That's exactly what I got.

This is a testament to how well SSTIS has aged. Everything has smoothed and its GORGEOUS.Any sharpness that could be derived from the red musk or vetivert is gone. Once again..this is so frikkin SMOOTH. I'd suggest people retry their decants, now.

2016:

Wet: I'd have to agree with the mothball vibe described by rhinestone housewife. The lemon peel is totally fucking with me!

Drydown: what happened? it smells like all my favorite sexy flower friends again... oh well! Its the same old sexy glorious Coral Snake, as reviewed previously for the 2006 version. C'est la vie. Bonjour, mon amour!

(disclaimer***This is the 1st day in 2 weeks I've been able to smell, due to a mega-nasty cold. I can smell as good as a canine...my nose has been reborn! Hence, you're dealing with a very fresh palette perspective, olfactory-wise.)

Wow. This is so much stronger than the 2006 version. I'm very happy.

Wet: Snake oil isn't notable. Narcissus is more potent in 2016 = opium-esque floral oriental base. The passionflower is binding with the narcissus, if you can imagine the stupor that could induce.....Its the feeling of a lucid dream haze.

2006 was barely a whisper of narcissus. More watery linden and white calla lily = plucky innocent maiden vibe.

Drydown: the staying power of the narcissus..wow. I can smell a bit more calla lily. The linden blossom is so delicate I think its getting overrun. Snake oil is coming out but don't misunderstand me... if you're looking for a scent that's snake oil + somethingsomething...look elsewhere. These florals are strong and obscure the SO completely. Overall, I love this though

ok I have to go. My dog nose is picking up the smell of my armpits. Shower time.

Wet: citrus bar cleaner mixed with triple sec spilled on the floor? Am I back at a mexican restaurant when it opens the day after a heavily attended evening? I know this smell...

Dry: ozone, lavender, green musk, bergamot. Much more mellow. I actually like it. Whew

OMG. Smells like the polyester santa-clad xmas decorations and tree skirt stored in my parents' basement! Someone out there HAS to make this their signature scent. Please? I wanna see you pick someone up at a bar...Target: "wow you smell great...purrrr...what is that scent??" You: "Its called Musty Santa Costume".

I mean COME ON. Its perfect.

This hits all the markers for someone kinda like me... but not. Like someone recommended on a dating site that makes you scrunch your nose, curse the fucking algorithm formula, and cry you'll "never meet anyone!!". Makes me wonder if I'm not conveying some aspect of my personality clearly...maddening! Anyways, before I start pulling in Schrödinger's Box and the Theory of Relativity here, on to the review.

Plums, snow, calla lily. Done.

Its a super straight forward scent and very loud throw. I'll treasure my decant.

2016

If I could write a haiku, it would be for Jacobs Ladder. I suck at poetry unless its on the fly verbal, plus just woke up with a missing voice so I have a few things halting my concentration, here....

Some years, the amber is gloriously warm, like The Lion. 2016's Jacobs Ladder is one of them. Get a bottle.

Any fans of Midnight Mass or other resinous blends should not pass this up. Its like going to happy church...think like if a Roman Catholic mass concluded with virgin pina coladas, a big group hug, and everybody got to wear that cool ass robe for sec.

The coconut snow is wonderful with frankincense and white patchouli. Drydown is where its at. That's when I say "BOTTLE".

ETA: why did I capitalize pina coladas? I mean I know the drink deserves some reverence... but really....

Holy mother of apricot. I like this. 1st impression: sexy apricot fabric softener. Like that new stuff that smells all resinous and high-end.. you know, with the weird commercial of women drinking champagne and hosing their huge house down? Its not apricot is AHHPREECôT.

I can see why people are going nuts over this one! It could've been released as Antique Doll's Lace via DD and I wouldn't have known any different. Its smooth polished vanilla with lovely light wispy tobacco and a sweet cognac backdrop. Wonderful. Bottle worthy for sure. Lab: 4. Wallet: zero.

Ayyyeee chiwawaaaa... yum. Very close to Golletes. Like Golletes and the pastry note from Huesos de Santos together. Giddy, bubbly, dreamy, delicious. Another check on my hoarding list. I totally didn't expect to loose so many dollars to the lab over yules... man I'm surprised this year!

Ooh man. This is a total winner. Its sweet creamy vanilla with a frankincense and herbal base. Perfection The petitgrain and coriander stay in check. I asked for more scents with unusual herbs, specifically thyme, and maaaaannnn did I get it. Hoarding.

2016

The 2015 release of Poor Monkey was smooth mostly fig milk but soooo faint.

This. 2016 is excellent. Much stronger and more notable on everything. Its perfect. Opens with sweet yet earthy pink lotus, sandalwood incense and ylang ylang. Settles into a sweet resinous wonder. Overall, soothing, pleasant, comforting, pink, ylang ylang fig scent with nice grounding notes. Very balanced. 2016's version will be my hoarding scent. Even if lupers disappoint me, I'll still have this to roll around in.

Due to the citronella I almost wanted this off my skin immediately...however being a TAL-ish blend just rode that thought out and kept in mind that this is not a powers of attraction or comfort scent. Drydown is pretty frikkin gorgeous. Its light herbal green/yellow wonderfulness. The lavender chamomile tulsi and mugort are harmonious and the most notable, on my skin. Lemongrass is keeping it fresh and a little citrusy.

Wish I had this scent when it came out considering I was going through the worst time of my life. I coulda really used it!

 

 

haha Your guess is as good as mine! I just googled it and the only thing that popped up were entries about this particular perfume. It's magical unicorn farts! I'm going with that.

 

 

Wait, that's the official name of this stuff?

 

 

 

SIDE NOTE- this is the 1st I've seen the Squatty Potty commercial. Jaw. Dropped. Amazed. Thank you.

Scents:

Bob Cratchit's Hearth, Picture Books in Winter, Woods in Winter (not too snowy), Hunters in the Snow (almost no snow, just a wet kinda crispness. Mostly firewood), Winter: My Secret (no experience but sounds good and resinous like samhain)

Has anyone tried DeVos' Unicorn and experienced a kinda sweet laundry correlation?

Completely accurate. Sweet, light pink rose with a touch of watery dew. It gets stronger in the drydown..woot!

Debating a bottle. Feel like if I don't grab this one I'll regret it.

Uhhhhh....don't think I'm weird but...this smells like San Francisco Soap Co's old Raspberry Glycerin Soap. (Its an extinct company from my wee days in the 90s, who's formulas got bought up by a small german soap making co....The Body Shop still has a strawberry soap of the same formula, for comparison)

Drydown: Its gotta be the fig. Whatever is in this, it turns to all raspberry fig perfumed pastilles on me...this is some backwards magic, eh?

anyways, I LOVE IT. Bottle worthy for sure!

Something reminded me of the "old books" smell from bpal... have I unlocked the secrets of how they formulate old books and parchment notes??!?!

Saffron is notable, as well as jasmine sambac (which I call The Nice Jasmine). Orange flower continues to brighten into drydown.. this is a lovely frankincense old books smell. But, sweet old books, not moldy ones.... Anyone loving these 2 notes should definitely give this a spin!

I agree with everything LizziesLuck said: about it conjuring an association to scherezade, smelling of red musk instead of db, and being totally bpal. Its kinda like Scherezade Light. Its that pervading, sensual, mysterious scent that filled the 20 ft radius of my newly growing bpal stash back in 2009...oh the memories!