Poenari

Let's bump this thread! I love BPAL clove! Thorns' Clove Cigarette if you can find it; Old Demons of the First Class is a great clove -forward GC currently out of stock (Siberian musk, black clove, opoponax, tonka, black pepper, and neroli) so get on the wait-list; Clemence from Carnival Diabolique is out of stock right now but get on the wait-list for the perfect patchouli clove blend; GC Blood for dragons blood and clove; GC Dracul (Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom); Low Key Lyesmith (Black clove and cassia flung onto glowing cinders and mingled with slow-dripping poisons); A Torch Steeped in Blood (Pine pitch and clove-tinged dragon’s blood resin); and then Frankincense and Clove hair gloss and Black Clove, Tobacco Flower and Grave Soil for the most perfect clove hair gloss!!

Received this in 2022. This goes on very clean, and smells like a fresh bar of white Dial soap to me. Not a bad smell, it's very fresh and doesn't make me sneeze or turn up my nose. After drydown, a warm white or skin musk comes through the soapiness. White musk usually goes straight to my sinuses, but not this, so maybe skin musk instead. Totally inoffensive, and could easily be worn in places that don't allow scent because it's so neutral and smells like clean skin fresh from a shower.

I'm not typically a fan of strawberry notes, so this is a very surprise! I get the frostbitten note here - very much a frozen strawberry scent! Not too sweet and not plasticky. Very nice and a fun scent to wear that is completely outside of my usuals!

I've been wearing my bottle of this frequently since it arrived last month. It's so beautiful... I have an enduring love of Snake Oil and several of the variants. This is another Snake Oil variant that I believe will become highly treasured. Don't sit on this one! The Snake Oil isn't as prominent as in recent other variants, so I think many people will find this delightful. To me, the rose is a lovely pink dewy rose, not sharp and not soapy, just fresh and springlike. The rose is actually more noticeable than the Snake Oil, which is a supporting player here. I also get some red musk from this. The scent is very wearable in any setting and quite long lasting. I need at least one backup bottle because I've already been going through my first so quickly!

I tested this without rereading the notes first. Wow! Popcorn! Unmistakable popcorn! After reviewing the notes, ok, I can get an undertone of some caramel from this too, but it's mainly salty popcorn to me. After drydown, a slight sweetness of cotton candy, but not nearly enough. I never get the cola or a fizzy pop from this. I'm not a fan of popcorn scents, so this decant is more than enough for me.

Finally testing my long-rested decant this morning. This is an ethereal lavender tea scent. Light and airy, and slightly aquatic from the ambergris. It's too high pitched for me to wear as a bedtime scent, as I prefer deeper darker scents to guide my sleep. The overall scent is lovely, and upon drydown, it deepens somewhat. However, overall this is not one that I would reach for.

Finally testing my well-rested decant. Oh wow! This is strawberry! And then the patchouli.... What a lovely strawberry incense scent! I typically avoid strawberry, but this is not a fake or plastic strawberry, it's a realistic juicy berry. Seriously good, and unexpected. I will enjoy wearing this decant. Seems to have decent throw and longevity, too.

Finally testing my very well-rested decant. Ohhh this is a lovely burst of rose! But what else is that familiar note... it's a soft note just underneath the surface... I know! There was a candy from my childhood ('50s/'60s) called Ben Hurs, long discontinued and lost to the ages. My dad and I loved them. They had a texture like butter mints, but were gray and anise-flavored. That's a memory dragged out of the distant recesses of my mind! Anyway it's not an obvious anise or licorice note, which isn't listed anyway, but somehow whatever is blending with the rose gave me an instant flashback to my childhood and that candy. After drydown, this has stayed consistent to the end, mainly a very slightly powdery, lovely rose scent. My budget is super restricted now or I would definitely buy a bottle of this.

Finally getting around to testing my decant, and this is a surprise! I get an aquatic fir tree, as if there is a stand of old firs right at the edge of crashing waves with a sea spray in the air. It dries down to a resinous blend, still with the fir note. The honey dust gives it a hint of sweetness, but doesn't stand out as a separate note. I love patchouli but it doesn't come through here. This is very nice and not at all what I expected.

I finally blind bought a bottle from the Lab in late November/early December, and other than a quick bottle sniff it's been sitting in the dark waiting for some early spring weather for me to break it out. Well it was 70 here yesterday, but I wanted to wear Serpent In The Roses. It's only 45 today, but I am finally giving this a full wear test. I adore lilacs so this was a must-have sent for my collection. One of the few happy memories I have of Catholic grade school is from the month of May. In particular my second grade classroom. It was located in the attic floor of a very old building. We loved being isolated from everyone else in the school, especially when it came to fire drills. We had to climb out a window onto a rickety old iron fire escape and slowly make our way down to the ground level. Everyone else exited from the main front stairs of the building. It was dangerous and scary and thrilling and would never be allowed nowadays. But we loved the thrill! My other favorite memory is of our May altar that was set up in our classroom. It had a big statue of the Virgin Mary, and we brought in tons of spring flowers to cover it: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils,, but most of all lilacs. We had two big lilac bushes in our yard so I always clipped big bunches of lilacs to bring to school. The scent of those beautiful fresh cut lilacs, with my nose buried in them during the bus ride to school, and placing them overflowing onto the altar, still makes me smile. And on whichever date was my turn to be May Queen, I wear a crown of lilacs and passed out flowers and treats to the entire classroom. This bottle takes me back instantly. All lilacs, all the time, beautiful sweet lilacs. It also has a lot of throw and long wear time on me. I love this so much.

The package sat by my door overnight, which is inside and upstairs in my apartment complex, but still cold in the hallway. This first test is straight from bringing it inside, so will update as it ages. Upon first application, and without rereading the notes, ah there's frankincense! The incense note is lovely, dry and very recognizable. None of the other notes are identifiable but they definitely cause the incense to be sweeter and very pretty. I slathered some on my wrist and called my husband over to sniff. He said "Nice" and I said "It's the Highest Quality Vagina" and he laughed and said "Well it certainly is!" 😄 As it dries down, I can smell the amber and maybe almond, but fortunately not strong sweet almond, is that usually amps and doesn't go well with my chemistry. Overall the honey, sweet almond, and amber are supporting players who lend a gentleness and sweetness to the incense. Can't wait to wear this and tell people what I'm wearing! I'm meeting my friend at the movies this afternoon and definitely wearing it.

This is lovely! I can't tell you what it smells like, because I don't do well with this many notes in one scent. However, it is sweet but dry with hints of spicy vegetation. I don't really get any fruitiness, but the florals are lush and velvety. There's quite a strong throw to this, too. I will definitely enjoy wearing my decant.

Ok this is not at all what I expected! I don't mean that in a bad way, because the scent is absolutely gorgeous on my skin. But I get a very glamorous perfume that is not quite floral, not quite gourmet, but all sophisticated. I cannot honestly smell any of the individual notes, and nothing at all like tea, but the sum of these notes is elegant and glamorous. I am going to save this decant for my next date night! Lovely!

I have let this sit for weeks until I got around to testing it, so my decant is nice and settled. I didn't review the notes before trying it and truly expected it to be citrusy because of the name! As soon as I opened the decant a waft of chocolate appeared and surprised me! So on my skin, I get a smooth creamy honeyed chocolate, a touch of hazelnut after drydown, and the figs never show up! This is a lovely foody chocolate that wears close to the skin. I'm sure many will love this, but most chocolate just doesn't work on my skin, and this one doesn't either. I'm so happy I got to try it though!

I just found my decant, apparently batted under the couch by a cat soon after opening the package of decants and fortunately missed by the vacuum! No better time than to finally test it. I applied without going back over the notes first, and nearly swooned over my first inhale of this on my wrist. Myrrh and musk - a lovely combo, with the labdanum adding an ambery touch to them. I don't smell rose, but here I think it supports and sweetens the other notes. This is just a lovely scent and now I'm sad that I waited too long to order a bottle. Added myself to the wait-list in the hope that this returns!