Almond Blossom

It's funny how different people get very different impressions. What attracted me to Masquerade first was patchouli and carnation (big fan of both), but on my skin it's mostly orange blossom, with other notes balanced pretty equally. I get some lovely ambergris if I really concentrate, and the other two blend into one spicy dark whole. My bottle is now seven years old, and it only gets better with every year. It's dark, sultry and really potent. A scent that takes no prisoners.

I am surprised by how much I like Black Lily. Got a frimp, tried it, and was blown away, even though usually I like quite complex, dark and strong scents, everything containing patchouli and vetiver, and despise florals. This one, however, is a secret gem. Simple and elegant and light, and somehow dark and mysterious and certainly not boring in any way - a vision of grace in shadow is a very apt description. I wear it when I want something simple and safe - it's really pretty in a grown-up woman way.

I really love this one. It was one of my first bottles years ago, and I'm still just as much in love with it, and wear a drop for every (online) pilates and yoga class I do. Perhaps it's just the name and/or description, but I do find it very grounding and calming. Very patchouli-forward, which is perfect for a patchouli fiend like me; haters might want to stay away, although I think the patchouli in this is a very nice and woodsy one; there's sandalwood in here too, and I'm not sure what else, but all of the notes blend beautifully together. A little sweet, quite strong but not overwhelmingly so. Just right. Really lovely.

I had very high hopes for this one, as I love the lab's hay note. Lovely as it is, I found Hay Moon strangely lacking on... hay. Yes, it is very pretty and evocative and a perfect late summer scent, but on me the hay note was barely detectable, and it was mostly about wheat, oats and marshmallow - which is nice, but not what I was hoping for. It is a very gentle scent, with not much staying power. I was looking for a replacement for my beloved My Mommy In A Boat, with its knock-your-socks-off hay note, but this is not it. It's still very lovely though, and I'm glad it's now gone to a better home.

This scent is pure perfection for vetiver lovers, I'm surprised it doesn't have more reviews! Vetiver and chocolate is a match made in heaven, and they blend together so beautifully. Can't detect much sandalwood, but I guess it's adding to the overall impression. It's so well blended and smooooth, like it's already been aged for quite a few years - definitely "aged" vetiver! As the reviewer above said, the throw and staying power are serious indeed, and I too am drowning in clouds of vetiver for hours after applying it - which for me is heaven! If it's one of your hate notes I'd stay away, but if you're ok with vetiver, give it a go. It's gorgeous.

Hurricane! Smells like rain itself.

 

 

^^ made me think of Streets of Detroit. Have you tried that one?

I've tried this one, and can say that it's another simple blend that is more than the sum of its parts. However, it reminded me so much of No. 93 Engine that I had to go and look up the notes. They both mostly smell like motor oil on me, with myrrh/frankincense (can't tell them apart) jazzing things up a bit. I think I still prefer No. 93 Engine, even though its components list is massive, and it is so extremely potent that it knocks my socks off!

I thought it might be of interest to the op. Liisa on fb likes to layer streets of Detroit with blueberry picking, which is on my to do list.

 

Yes, I understand the question was directed at the op. Yet, I still wanted to offer my contribution with regards to Streets of Detroit, as I had tested it and found it strangelly reminiscent of No 93 Engine, which in my opinion is superior to Streets of Detroit.

Sloth is a big favourite of mine - vetiver and myrrh, very dark and long-lasting.

Masquerade is also gorgeous - patchouli, ambergris, carnation and orange blossom.

Robin Goodfellow lists five notes (dark musk, moss-covered wood, ragwort, heather, and sage), but it does smell very simple and clean and just lovely.

And Fenris Wolf is one of my Holy Grails - rosewood, amber, red musk and a dribble of red sandalwood.

^^ made me think of Streets of Detroit. Have you tried that one?

I've tried this one, and can say that it's another simple blend that is more than the sum of its parts. However, it reminded me so much of No. 93 Engine that I had to go and look up the notes. They both mostly smell like motor oil on me, with myrrh/frankincense (can't tell them apart) jazzing things up a bit. I think I still prefer No. 93 Engine, even though its components list is massive, and it is so extremely potent that it knocks my socks off!

One of my very favourites is Playful Wooden Mallets - two notes only, cinnamon and black musk. I'm rather surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, as it is glorious.

You might want to explore the Twilight Alchemy Lab website.

Oh, and by the way, I absolutely adore BPAL's Mercury - the most beautiful lavender scent I've ever had the pleasure of sniffing, and combined with mint it is truly amazing. Too bad it was discontinued a long time ago, but if you stumble across it, it's really worth trying.

I really like The Ta-Ta (Boiled leather, carnation blossom, coffee absolute, and tobacco), although that was an LE. A lot of people say they find it very similar to The Arabian Dance.

I wish the lab did more chocolate-, sugar- and pie-free coffee blends. *sigh*

I'm still hoping for a black coconut SN.

I have no advice as to what to wear, but I love putting perfume in my hair. It sometimes lasts up to three days, through hair washing and all! I think that should work fine for you, unless your hair is super short. Don't forget to apply some on your wrists as well.

Yemaya is a gorgeous melon scent.

Cathedral is dark, sexy, heady and incensey. Yum.

Omen feels very autumnal to me. Very beautiful.

Just received this one today (unsniffed!) and unfortunately, looks like I have found a new death note - pomegranate.

During the first application pomegranate totally dominated the entire time and ruined an otherwise perfect scent - I could smell the dark and earthy vetiver, patchouli and black musk that I love so much. Actually, all of the notes in this blend apart from the evil pomegranate are total wins with me. Curse you, you evil synthetic sickly sweet pomegranate!

I might wait and test it a couple more times to see if anything changes, but I've got a feeling The Great He-Goat won't be staying with me for long.

I second Clemence, which is one of my two holy grails. It doesn't contain frankincense but it has that dark and seductive quality, truly gorgeous! Old Demons of the First Class is also very dark and clovey, sweet but not cloying. I'm wearing it right now. Mmmmmm cloves.....

Well the update you've quoted is about price increase and I've experienced the opposite! I added the same amount of bottles to my cart and the shipping was less than two months ago. Not sure why but I do hope it stays that way.

Thanks for the reply.

Fenris Wolf is one of my two Holy Grails, I adore it. I wouldn't call it a masculine scent and am always surprised when somebody does, but it's definitely gender-neutral. It's not a cold scent either, more warm and slightly fruity because of the red musk, but absolutely glorious. I wouldn't have picked it based one the notes as they don't sound very appealing to me, but I received it as a frimp from another generous bpaler and it was an instant love.

I have a question and I hope this is the right place to ask it.

The question is: Have the shipping costs changed recently? More specificly, have they been reduced within the past two months? Sounds crazy, I know, but I've been playing with the shopping cart just now, and when I try to place an order to be delivered to the UK it shows shipping and packaging costs as £12.79 GBP. I thought this can't be right, I went to my email inbox to dig out a ccnow invoice from two months ago, and back then I was charged £19.39 GBP. How come? I haven't heard anything about reducing shipping costs, maybe I've just missed it. Would be quite nice though if that's true, there is no way I can justify paying almost £20 for shipping alone. That's what, $30+. Madness!

How does War age please? I've just received a fresh decant of this one and although I had really high hopes, I'm not too sure now whether I like it. To me it smells too much like Shub. I'm a big ginger fan and have tried most of the ginger blends listed here but nothing has worked so far... I think I'll go for Origins Ginger Essence instead as lab's ginger doesn't like me.

If I apply some oil on my hair it seems to last forever. Even after I wash it I can still smell the fragrance on my hair well into the following day.

Is Goblin sweet at all? Or is it all Patchoulli? And Tomstone scares me because of the balsam and cedar but does the vanilla overpower those?

 

Wonder what vanilla scent would be the same/closest as the one in Banshee Beat to layer with?

 

Goblin isn't really sweet.. it's kinda gnarly, raw, dirty - but in a good way.. but that's coming from me, a lover of black coconut The benzoin in Goblin is sweet and syrupy - similar to a dark vanilla - but it's not 'foodie' like vanilla is, but mostly it's all about the patchouli with Goblin - it's pretty patchouli-heavy, but it's not as full-on as it is in #occupywallstreet, and the coconut/benzoin sweeten it up nicely. Tombstone is really lovely - the balsam is similar to the hemp in BB, and the cedar is soft and smooth because it has the sassafras to warm it up, but to me the vanilla is the star of the show - with the balsam it has a really nice smokey tone.

 

They're both worth a try, I'd say.. but out of the two, Goblin is probably more Banshee Beat-ish because it has that same raw kind of vibe about it, and the same syrupy rich feel as BB. If you like black coconut and patchouli, then Gobin is a must-try anyways

I bought a bottle of Goblin unsniffed because it sounded like a scent made especially for me - raw and dirty patchouli with black coconut. Alas, I didn't know what benzoin smells like and in my n00bish excitment I didn't bother to find out. BIG mistake. It was so overwhelmingly and unbearably sweet I almost cried in despair, especially since I could still smell the gorgeous patchouli + coconut combo underneath the evil benzoin. Funnily enough, the first time I tried it I happened to be eating some coconut cookies - and Goblin smelled EXACTLY the same! Very sweet and foody. I tried it again a few times after that with no cookies in sight to interfere with the scent - same thing. Probably my biggest disappointment so far. On the other hand, recently I received an imp of Death Adder which is everything I expected Goblin to be. Can't wait for the CD to come back!

Hmmmm... That's interesting. I assumed they were LEs but was confused about the four Gustav Klimt scents still being available to buy when it says they will be live until 13th October. I emailed the customer service and got a reply saying "Unfortunately, the Klimnt scents came down in October, and are no longer available". I still went and ordered them a week ago praying I don't get a reply saying they are unavailable. Should have added the other two as well.

Anyway, thanks for your reply, muchly appreciated