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Cake, cake cake cake cake! On first spray I get a lovely cold mint, and then the vanilla which smells like buttercream at first. So for a little while it's buttermints. But shortly thereafter it is all yellow cake all the time, and I'm just fine with that really. Because my bedroom smells like cake. Yum.

Caveat: rose freak here. Sniffed this one at WC and immediately dabbed it on. It became an insta-bottle purchase. In the bottle: dark, spicy cinnamon tea and roses On the skin: lots of black tea, like sticking your nose in a tea chest with all manner of exotic teas. the spices are soft and inviting (not burny!), and someone's tossed some roses in that are starting to decay. this has a LOT of throw on me. a LOT. i actually can't smell it when i put my nose next to my skin, but it is wafting around me like a cloud. Dry: less throw, it's pulled back in on itself and now stays closer to my skin. color is dark purply red, and it feels jammy, not dry at all. really does it for me in that it encapsulates that victorian vibe but it's not exactly proper, it is dark and slightly sinister. Bit later: slight soapiness, but still a winner for me.

I get more nutmeg than cardamom out of Mama-Ji, but YMMV. Mama-Ji is sweetly smoky floral incense + nutmeg on me.

OK, so I tested this out of a cold mailbox which means that my impressions are likely to change! First on: blast of citrus-y tea Moments Later: Whoa vanilla! That is some rich bourbon vanilla there. Much later: Stays put at a dry, dusty linen and vanilla scent. Fascinating. I have Autumn Lace on the other arm and I can tell the vanilla is of the same variety, but it feels much richer and foodier in this one. Verdict: A very pretty, Victorian-y, girlish Lace.

Yep. That's Black Lace with dry leaves. I think I'll like this one once it settles (I did try it right out of the cold mailbox). The leaves are going a bit celery like on me right now (maybe it's the combo of linen and leaves?). It is more subdued than BL, a bit dustier and contemplative. Like BL's bookish little sister. Can't compare it to Samhain or Falling Leaves Moon as I haven't tried either of those, but it is a very pretty and evocative fall scent. Looking forward to seeing how this one does given a bit of time to rest, but I do have a lot of Black Lace already, so I may not need this after all.

I haven't reviewed anything formally in a long time, but Third Charm is pulling me out of retirement as my new BFF deserves more praise. I've worn it several times now. Usually it smells like a love child of Smut (minus the booze) and Womb Furie. If you love either or both of those, you're probably going to love Third Charm. If you don't.... perhaps not. It is sweet, incensey and deep. The red musk is not playing around and takes the stage first with power and intensity, while honey slowly dances her way forward. Lasts for quite a while and dries down to a lovely sweet powdery honey incense. I did experience one time wearing it where it surprised me by highlighting all the woods and resins, which was a fun twist. But usually I cannot really smell the elemi or cedar. At any rate, I love it to pieces. It is definitely my favorite BPAL in the last year or so by a mile.

Schwarzer Mond is pretty wonderfully myrrh. If you like honey, try Sed Non Satiata for a honey/myrrh fix. If you like fig, track down Apatouros, dark chewy fig and myrrh.

It smells VERY similar to Morocco to me! I'll second that! Very similar indeed.

Thanks for the link Elka! Also, I really need to track down an imp of Black Rider. Sounds right up my alley.

THIS. I'm glad you said so, because I thought I must be crazy when I got Irish Spring from Cthulhu. Which I find amusing in a twisted way.

Butterfly is one of my favorite commercial perfumes, or at least it used to be. I haven't tried L'Estate in a while, but my notes on it say that it is the closest BPAL Butterfly dupe I've found. Good luck!

Thank you for this review! I'm finishing up my final list of Salons to order-- managed to grab Cleopatra Testing Poisons and Love and Pain off sales. SotKC is now definitely on my final list. I believe Lucretia and Cloister Graveyard will be accompanying. Still waffling on And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt. And wish I had enough to grab Smiling Spider too. Alas, I think I need to keep it whittled down to just three more.

I really like this one. Granted, I'm an absinthe fan, so it was unlikely that I wouldn't, but I wasn't sure how absinthe would meld with the other notes in the Lace base. Luckily, they work beautifully. It's a fascinating and dark scent, that lovely anise note on top, then a warmth and greenness from the cognac and more depth and darkness from the tobacco. All kissed with a bit of sugar and vanilla. My only complaint is it faded very very quickly on my skin-- I don't think I got more than a half an hour or so before it was pretty faint. I may have to slather, which is problematic considering the extremely limited number that were released. Ah well. Glad I have at least the one.

This is lovely, but I almost never dislike anything with honey and red musk in it. On me, the honey and myrrh are really the strongest notes. It's a nice, round honey, deepened by the myrrh. Red musk definitely comes into play, but I get very little carnation, just a twinge of spice that lets me know it's hanging around in the background. Wish it were a bit stronger on the carnation, because I LOVE carnations. Really I love all these notes to pieces, which is why I sprung for a bottle unsniffed. Worked out pretty good!

For me personally, badass spicy floral = Clemence. But now I'm desperate to check out Bathsheba because I love all things carnation and I'm pretty fond of plum too. Thanks for the reco!