forspecial_plate
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Everything posted by forspecial_plate
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Iris Root, White Amber, and Blackberry
forspecial_plate replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I would describe this as a soft scent, about half blackberry and half perfumey haze. I started loving the lab's blackberry note recently and this is like a soft, pillowy blackberry scent. I can't really pick apart the iris root and amber, except I do get a hint of something kind of rubbery that I think must be the iris root. It adds a little interesting edge to the scent. Overall it's on the lighter side and lasts about 3 hours on me before it becomes just a skin scent. I love it, so I'm happy to reapply. It doesn't really change much, if at all, over time (except for fading). I'm calling this a chic, elegant, blackberry scent. -
I'm having a similar experience to LavenderCoffee above. When I first got this there was a sour chemical aspect that I couldn't get past, I really thought I didn't like this scent, and I put it aside for a while. Now it's like the sour aspect is still there, but it's not bad. I'm actually liking it today. Somber is the right word. I think I'll enjoy this on rainy chilly days in the fall. Right now I have an Animalic Chaos Theory on too, a sweeter scent that I think has some cardamom, and it's helping to balance out the austere sour aspect of Death Moon. As far as notes, I think I mostly smell resins with a hint of rose. The rose isn't very strong but the presence is there. It's a little herby too. I'm glad I took a chance, this could be one of those scents that started out badly but grows on me more and more.
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Lush to BPAL scent comparisons (BNever included too)
forspecial_plate replied to Vanilla's topic in Recommendations
Angelvs Domini reminds me of Sultana of Soap - not exactly like it but the vibe is there for sure, every time I've worn it I thought of SoS. -
I love this lots! I can't really pick out any notes except for the suggestion of frankincense. Right at the beginning I got a hint of spruce or something, but I think that could be from the frankincense. The lavender doesn't stand out to me, like it did for bygraveyardlight in the review above. I don't really smell lilac either tbh, but I believe everything is here blending into this one scent, and it's not really like anything else I have. (I'm kind of new to lilac notes, so maybe my nose just isn't detecting it..) Clean and resinous, maybe just a touch fruity. Almost like soap or a bath product but very comfortable for me and I think I'll be wearing this a lot. (Edit..). Actually every time I wear it, I think of Lush's Sultana of Soap, they're not exactly alike but the vibe is very similar IMO.
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In moonarcana's review, I was the friend who said he didn't want to try this because it had a grape note. That was waaaay back when I was a little more picky about bpal scents and my tastes were a little different back then anyway. Now I've learned to stop worrying and just love the Urd, and I can't believe I've never reviewed it in here before! It is a little on the sweet side but that's not really a problem, it just means there might be certain days occasionally when I'm not in the mood for it. It does smell like a deep grapey incense scent to me, I really don't detect a lot of patchouli standing out, but that isn't uncommon for me, patchouli tends to just drift into the background and acts as more of a deep backdrop for the other notes. This is very different from Midnight On the Midway, another fabulous incense scent. I think Urd is...darker, more subdued, even though it's not a quiet scent really. I hadn't thought about this for a while, happened upon an imp and put it on right away, and immediately put a 5ml bottle in the cart to include in my next order. Love it!
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Ghost Lily, White Sandalwood, and Ambergris Accord
forspecial_plate replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I've worn this a few times, and it's a weird scent, but a good scent. It starts out smelling kind of funky. I blame the ambergris, it can be iffy on me, but I'm learning it can sometimes do nice things. At first this seems like too much ambergris and I'm kind of repelled but interested at the same time. After a short time it does smooth out a lot and I'm weirdly reminded of....birch beer? Birch beer on the beach? Herbal, a little earthy, and still kind of beachy. It's not single note ambergris, but the other notes are doing weird things, not in a bad way though. There's something I really like about it. I don't get much lily or sandalwood either but sometimes I can't pick out white sandalwood, so that's not surprising. This smells clean, herbal, maybe a little woody like driftwood or something. I'm glad I took a chance on it! Edit.. Perhaps what I'm smelling is mostly ambergris, but the other notes are making making it more likeable to me than it sometimes can be. -
I have mixed feelings about this. At first, and for a long time, it is mostly cherry, but it's kind of a fake-smelling cherry that reminds me of a powdered cherry drink mix. It was a little too strong and the cherry was just too much. I really thought I liked bpal's cherry scents, I do love some of them, so this was surprising and disappointing. But then after 2 or 3 hours the balance shifts just a little bit, the cherry fades somewhat, and I really like it at this stage. I think I can pick out all the other notes, even the blackcurrant is kind of distinct, and I'm loving the musk (makes me really excited to try the new Menage scent that has cherry and black musk). I'm definitely holding on to this and I just have to remember to ride out the first strong cherry phase for a while. I think it's worth it. And maybe aging will improve it to my nose.
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I guess I never reviewed this...might as well since I'm wearing it. Heavily applied from a very aged decant, I'm smelling mostly a warm sweet vanilla scent, with some of the ginger candy coming through. I remember it used to be more complex and this decant has faded a lot over time, but the scent is still there, more than I would have expected. After a while I think the leaf and wood notes are coming out a bit more. Still very vanilla forward. I think I'm getting more of the complexity that I remember when it was newer. I think I can pick out the rice wine, too. Wear your decants while they're young and fresh, if you can! But having said that, this isn't bad at all.
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Clove discussion! including bitter clove and clove cigarettes
forspecial_plate replied to amaltheagray's topic in Recommendations
I put on some Velvet Bandito from my very aged decant just now and thought of this thread, I'm not surprised someone else mentioned it here, there's no clove in the description but I am getting a warm dusty clovey kind of scent. Clove can be tricky on me, sometimes it likes to take over the whole scent. So I have to be careful. -
This is very well blended and nothing stands out strongly, the lavender is soft in my opinion (not harsh like it can sometimes be), there's a sense of powder but it's not like a huge powder puff of scent. It's not soapy, either. Later on I do get a hint of plum. It doesn't smell strongly floral and I cannot pick out the incense note but there is a bit of perfumey haze, maybe that is from the incense. I think there's a delicate balance that keeps it from being "too much" of anything. Overall it's a lighter scent but not too light - just about the right level for me. I liked it so much I did reapply a little more, after a couple hours. It's really lovely and captures the feeling of the art, beautifully! Edit: a few hours later this has morphed, something keeps going, kind of tangy and resinous? Maybe the pink labdanum, it smells really good whatever it is.
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This is a pretty strange scent. Basically I'm getting a kind of dirtied up leather but there's a perfumey haze about it, for a while. Then later on more of the stone note comes out and it becomes smoother, some of the haze recedes a bit. I agree with the review above on a lot of things, for example I also detect a sort of "bleached" thing going on. It's weird how elegant this is, given everything I said before, and I'm not quite sure I can pull it off, but it's definitely unique and interesting.
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This was not really a win for me. I love sassafras and/or root-beer scents, so I really thought this was a no-brainer for me. When I first got it, there was a bit of warm herbal sweetness with something funky underneath that smelled like burnt plastic or rubber to me. Something chemical that clashed with my skin unfortunately, I have no idea where that came from. I let it age a few months and the weird burnt chemical note is faintly still there but not nearly as strong now. I can mostly ignore it now, but somehow this still just isn't working very well for me. I may let it age a little more but I might have to just take the L with this one.
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For me, this is just about perfect! The tea notes and lilies are perfectly balanced and if I try, I can smell both the green and black tea. I can't really pick out anything like black crepe, nothing oceanic like VioletChaos mentions above, that doesn't happen on me (although I probably would like that). For me it's clean, but not soapy. It's not powdery (I thought the crepe note might be powdery, but so far it's not). And it's a light scent but not too light. It's one of those scents that is just the right level of throw. I've worn it twice and it seems to last a pretty long while, but it does get weaker over time as you would expect. This is lovely for spring time, and in fact might be my new favorite spring scent. I think of it as bright and lively, in contrast to the name. I love this one!
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I love this! I tried it with Rice Milk & Mango on the other wrist to compare, and I do think they are similar. The amber is light but definitely there, and I think it's giving GH more lasting power than the trio. On me the amber gradually takes over and the mango note fades to the background. This is a very simple and pleasant scent, especially good for early spring. Edit: darn. Something in this isn't agreeing with me. I noticed it before but it wasn't enough to turn me off. It's something high pitched and screechy like white musk. Apple Butter Rum had it too but it's a lot stronger in that. In Gentle Hands it's just barely there but I'm afraid this isn't going to work for me. It's just on the edge of headache territory. I really thought I loved this. I think I'll try it a couple more times over the next few months and see if some aging will help. I wish I knew what note does this, but these 2 scents seem to have nothing in common. I had thought it was rum but maybe not. OH......maybe it's cream?? That would make me sad, I really thought I liked the Lab's cream note. Maybe there's more than one cream accord, and one of them disagrees with me. : (
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This smells like clove plus some atmospheric hazy smoke and a hint of hairspray. I wasn't impressed when I first got it, I thought it was heavy, too much clove, and borderline sour on my skin. Now when I smell it up close I get the eerie, uncanny sense of a person, like this perfume conjured up a real person and I'm leaning in and smelling them up close. I'm picturing someone with long hair and I just put my face right by their neck and in their hair. It's wild and a little scary. After a while it dies down a bit and it's clove, leaves, light smoke. Maybe some hairspray. The person left the room. I don't know how often I'll wear this but I'm startled by it, and keeping it if only because it's so evocative and weird. Also it goes really well with Dead Leaves & Ginger Spice. Guess I'm having a Halloween kind of day today.
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This is heavy on resins, very frankincense & myrrh, but the other notes do make themselves known, especially the mosses and a touch of rose. Overall it's close to soapy and if you can't do mosses or rose, this might not work out for you. I believe the ambrette seed and ambergris are making this smell "perfumey" and chic, but not standing out a whole lot. It reminds me of a classic, old-school chypre. I had to check the notes because later in the dry-down, I thought I smelled patchouli as well. Not sure where that came from, maybe the mosses? I haven't tried them side-by-side, but I can say with some confidence, this reminds me of OLLA Eve. This one is smokier and a little darker, but they do share a similar vibe with the resins, mosses, and rose. When I first got this I thought it was almost ALL frank & myrrh, and I would like that, but I am glad the other notes came out more after a few days of resting. : )
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I can't really pick out individual notes, except I do get a sense of ambergris and cream linen (I'd love to see cream linen turn up again in a Menage scent..). The notes are just completely blended. I personally don't smell any rose or anything floral. On me this is a dead ringer for CK One Summer. I tried them side-by-side and CK One Summer has a little bit more mineral or salt note (I forget which year this one is, they change every year, this one might be 2019). But the biggest difference is A Summer Night lasts and lasts, when CKOS fades really quickly. I have found I don't reach for this a lot, bit there are times I'm in the mood for it, so I'll keep it around for now. It's definitely a warmer weather perfume, but might also be a good mood lightener in the winter.
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Honeycomb, Lemon, and Sugar Cane
forspecial_plate replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I have a history of not liking honey, but I do like Snake's Kiss with its honeycomb, and the reviews for this made me want to try it. I took a chance. The honeycomb here smells closer to just honey to me, and it's almost too much honey. I don't hate it but it's like... "Yep that's honey". I can smell the lemon, and I wish it was more lemony and less honey on me. I can't really pick out sugar cane as a separate note. I'm undecided. Like I said, I don't hate it and I even think it smells good, somewhat, but this is the MOST honey I can get away with wearing (IF I keep it). I shall keep trying before I make a decision. -
Sheer musk, cedar smoke, fir needle, chaparral, black amber and leather. First I noticed more fir needle than I get from the older version, and less cedar. After a while, the amber and leather come out a little more. And that's what this is on me - kind of an herbal piney leathery amber scent, on the lighter side. I think the musk is more of a background note to everything else. I like this. I've worn the older version and finally got to try this newer one. It's a different scent (compared to the original), mainly with less cedar, allowing more if the other notes to come forward. I don't know chaparral and I can't tell if I'm smelling it here. But, I'm really glad to have this, it seems pretty versatile and I think I can wear it just about any time of year.
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Does balsam smell like hay? Because this smells like a golden hay/leather/musk scent. It's like the last warm breeze of summer before the leaves start changing color. (I don't smell any leaves, it's just an image that came to mind). It's really nice, I just put on a little to test but it ended up being my scent of the day. There's something kind of sparkly about it, not sure what that's about. I think this is a comfortable and uncomplicated scent for late summer/early fall. Glad I took a chance!
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I am not really picking out separate notes here either! On me, this is a sweet ambery scent. After a while I can tell the teak is coming out more, it's a very smooth woody note. On me this is more sweet and springy than GV was (from memory). I don't smell much pear-like about it or any white tea, as far as I can tell. I think I'm mostly getting amber cream and lotus root, with teak coming in after a while. It's pretty straightforward and sweet on me (sorry, "sweet" is the word that keeps coming to me). But the teak note does elevate it into more chic territory, when it comes out.
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I had better luck with this. It goes on light and sweet with the figgy pudding, and within a couple of minutes the vetiver starts coming out. The vetiver and patchouli, on me, make this scent a little bit cologney, but it's not a bad thing at all. I can't really pick out vanilla or myrrh, I think they are just blending with the figgy pudding and contributing some sweetness. I think this is kind of a comforting scent, sweet with a bit of earthy rumble. I like it and I really like the level of throw, which is light but not too light (just right, for me). This will be great when the holidays come around again but I think it can be worn just about any time of year.
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I'm getting strong spicy sandalwood at first, then later I can tell the charcoal and aloeswood notes are coming out stronger. I didn't get strong clove but I agree with marared's quality Japanese incense comparison. I'm reminded of Pyramid of Skulls. I thought this might be more harsh and burning but it's warm, glowing and spicy.
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Tea Leaves, Vanilla Bean, and Incense Smoke
forspecial_plate replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This is really, really light. I love lighter scents and this is about as light as it gets (on my skin, at least). I do smell the vanilla. I'm reminded of Dead Leaves & Vanilla Incense from a couple/few years back. But instead of leaves this seems to have the tea note from White Rabbit, or similar. There's something slightly astringent in addition to the warm vanilla, and I think that could be the tea note. Can't really comment on the incense, it's just not standing out to me. If I sniff up close I am detecting a hint of something smokey, but that too could be coming from the tea note. I just got this yesterday, not sure if it will be any different when it settles. Just wanted to get an impression out there in case anyone was curious. Edit: this was my sotd and it's still a light scent, but it lasts a really long time - I can still smell it after 12+ hours! -
This is beautiful! As far as orange scents, this might be one of the best (I only briefly tried Orange, a long time ago, so I can't compare it to that). It's not orange single note obviously but I feel the tea note (I think that's what kamairicha is...) and champaca blossom are very much supporting orange as the main player. There's a hint of white floral here and I guess that is the champaca blossom. I love the Lab's champaca note but I'm not getting a strong sense of it here, and it seems more floral. It is blended really smoothly with the orange. And I'm not sure I'm smelling the kamairicha at all. This will be great in warm weather, or any time I need a cheerful burst of orange. It doesn't change much in the drying stages, but it does last a long time on me.