forspecial_plate

I can smell patchouli, but really it's hard to pick apart different notes here. Ylang was a risk for me, I don't hate it but I wasn't sure if I really liked it. It really doesn't stand out at all to me. I understand what Rane means by the aftershave impression. Not sure what else to say! It's just totally blended to me. I like this and I will wear it as late summer transitions to fall.

Gosh this is beautiful. I just got it yesterday, so it's still shifting around a little from traveling. But I'm pretty sure I love it. I was a little concerned about vetiver because it can misbehave and take over sometimes. I'm happy to say vetiver is a polite voice at the party here, it speaks up at the very beginning but not too loudly. At the very start this is a nice juicy orange vetiver scent but less than 5 minutes in, the orange blossom BLOOMS, an orange tinted white-ish floral note that is just divine. There's a hint of powder around the edges but this isn't a powdery scent. I can't comment much on the drydown, so far it seems to just fade off into light citrus loveliness. Bergamot stays in the background for me, or maybe it's just backing up the orange blossom. So far every time I've worn it, I keep reapplying to get that celestial floomf of orange blossom. This is so perfect for late summer.. 🧡🧡🧡 Edit: yeah after a while this fades to a very light skin scent. Perhaps a scent locket would help to extend that gorgeous beginning phase, it lasts about a half hour on me. It's ok, I don't mind reapplying often!

I just got Resistance, and when I tried it on, I thought, "This will be a fantastic autumn scent!".

My experience with this was a lot like Follow My Nose's review above. I would add that in the first couple minutes, this really reminds me of Mad Hatter. But that changes. Like others mentioned, I get an impression of some kind of floral peeking out, maybe white floral, but not specific. And I might be the only one but I could almost swear I smell sandalwood for a while, but then that backs off. And I think someone mentioned vanilla? I get a little of that too. This is a morpher and I would suggest it needs to be tried on the skin. It's really interesting and I'm really glad I took a chance on it! Edit: I tried this again today and it's intense perfumey buttery musk, almost like those butter mint candies - but very "grownup" also. It's so weird, I'm not getting anything floral this time. This could almost be a Halloweenie scent.

I had a different experience! This translates to strong, heavy incense, nag champa variety, that takes over on my skin for hours, lasts through soap and water, into the next day. I can smell the orange blossom, honey, and maybe tuberose, but honestly I can close my eyes and be transported to the incense section of a new-age shop. It didn't agree with me and I have several other scents that fit that category, so I don't need to try this again. Please note, this was tested pretty much right out of the mailbox (shared order with a friend, she had more success with this one!).

This is a dusky, night time jasmine scent, a little bit fruity, with some light benzoin around the edges. It has a light and airy quality to me but it's deceptively strong. My partner smelled it from the next room! It's definitely a "purple" scent. I think the red mandarin is just blending with the plum for the overall fruity feeling. I mean, I almost expect the oil itself to be purple (it's not, as far as I can tell in the bottle). This is a beautiful night-time summery scent! I usually get along just fine with jasmine, and I love this one. I think the benzoin is giving it a "lift", with that light incense around the edges.

I haven't tried Paper Phoenix. However, I would suggest you try Rendezvous with Her Lover Behind the Rice Straws, from this year's Lupers. I mention it because I get a pretty strong AL vibe, even though there's no vanilla listed in the notes. And a few of the reviews do mention vanilla. Worth a shot! : )

You might want to try Snake Oil and also browse through the Snake Pit while you're at it (except I think Snake Oil is out of stock at the moment 🙁), since it is one of the Lab's most popular scents and it's talked about a lot, and you might enjoy it. I think I would recommend Boomslang in particular (part of the Snake Pit, in the Carnaval Diabolique section), if you like cocoa. It's a warm, slightly earthy, sultry cocoa + Snake Oil (and other stuff) scent moreso than gourmand in my opinion. The list of notes may not sound complex but I think Snake Oil on its own is rather complex, musk and spices, vanilla, who knows what else. : ) And the Snake Pit scents really vary on how much they resemble Snake Oil. Also I would try stuff even if you think you won't like it, you may be surprised by something. : ). I didn't think I would like any foody/gourmand scents but I ended up loving Sugar Skull, Eat Me, and lots of pumpkin scents too. : )

I just love this! It wasn't on my radar when it first appeared, for whatever reason. I think I've been wary of neroli in the past because it can be unpredictable and doesn't always work for me. And nag champa, and incense in general, can be tricky too. For some reason I got on a neroli kick recently and found a bottle here on the forum, and took a chance. I'm so glad I went for it! There is a wonderful balance between the sweetness of the incense, and the raspy herbal neroli. It starts with a juicy burst of neroli followed by a cloud of nag champa. Much later I think the neroli comes back out. I don't think the notes really blend together, I can pick them out individually (I could be wrong). I know I'm weird about this but certain Bpal scents just say "summer" to me and I can't wait to wear this in hot weather! Actually it kind of reminds me of a beautiful suntan lotion (are those things of the past now?). I'll definitely be watching the menage a trois scents now because this one just sings on me and it came along at a time when I was starting to lose some enthusiasm about wearing scents in general. I couldn't be happier with it!

Rose scents are a risk for me because rose can turn too soapy, too sharp, too sour, powdery, etc - but I love them when they work out! This was a risk that paid off. This is mainly rose on me, with nothing else jumping out, nothing sharp, no soap, nothing bad at all. I can't quite pick out the other notes but I can tell they are present. There is a slight hint of something tart, that may come from the rose, or maybe the labdanum? I'm not sure but I think the vanilla is just a pillowy soft backdrop that smooths everything out. You might call this powdery but I think the combination of notes is really balanced and I don't think it's TOO powdery. This does bring incense to mind but it's very sophisticated and doesn't go too loud or too flat or anything (incense can turn on me sometimes). It just simply smells good, which I was really hoping for when I saw these notes. I'm going to let my partner try this and if he loves it too, we might need another bottle!

This smells like a slightly animalic, dirtied up leather and musk, with maybe some cherry swirling around at the beginning. I'm getting a hint of waxy/rubbery something, and a hint of spice too, nothing specific, just slightly spicy. Also - either there is extra musk in this, or maybe a little oud, and that's where the "dirty" part comes from. The Snake Oil isn't very strong and there's not a lot of sillage for me, which is actually what I prefer over super-strong scents. This is great. Am I going to wear it? I'm not sure, but I like it more than Snake Skin and I'm glad I didn't let it pass by. It's perfect for Halloween! Like others mentioned, I didn't get it when I first tried it, right after I got it in the mail. I did set it aside for a few days, and now I understand how this fits the concept. The light bulb went on today - "Ah yes, Wax Vampire Teeth! I get it now!".

I think the lotus root/pine ratio is about 30/70. And this lotus root doesn't smell like lotus as I know it from gc lotus scents. It also doesn't smell rooty to me, it's more like an airy floral note. Every time I tried this, I thought it smelled like a Luper scent. But the pine needles are pretty strong here, so there's that. It isn't quite working for me but I'm going to set it aside and try again. Maybe on a breezy spring morning?

Frankincense is the strongest note for me, and I think the other notes combine to imitate myrrh, even though there's no myrrh listed in the description. (or maybe in my mind, I'm expecting myrrh to be there so I'm smelling an illusion of myrrh or something?). Also, something here reminds me of labdanum. It's incense-y but also deep and dark, kind of wine-like, with the bergamot adding just a hint of fruitiness. It is kind of like Thousands of Lights but this is a little lighter, and easier for me to wear. It's a really nice combination, I love all of these notes so it was a no-brainer, and I'm glad I got it.

Note the description for the new Yule scent, V'al HaNissim: "beeswax glowing softly amber". So beeswax single note? Or beeswax plus amber maybe. I'm interested in how this will smell!

This smells fantastic. It's complex, but I think I can pick out leaves, tea, and although I smell something vaguely fruity that I guess is currant (it smells sort of purple-y), I really don't smell any cake except maybe the slightest hint of it. I don't get a lot of smoke but it's very atmospheric. I'm really happy with this, so far it's my #1 winner from this year's Halloweenies. I commented elsewhere that this is like Dorian at the Halloween party with a witch costume on. I still think so but it also reminds me of a Lace scent without the Lace, or maybe with the Lace turned down low. I hope that makes sense to someone. : D

This smells fantastic. I smell leaves, earthy patchouli, and other stuff. The other notes are just hints without standing out as blackcurrant or bourbon. It all just blends together, it's like a dark, chilly autumn wind. It reminds me a lot of Hallow-e'en 1914, which makes sense looking at the notes, but the patchouli is standing out and making me love this scent even more. There's nothing really surprising here, just a lovely fall Bpal scent, kind of what I expected from the notes. Edit: just a little while later, the bourbon came out stronger. I didn't notice it as much when I tried this yesterday. It's really working in this scent. I love it!

This is fantastic. I have been in the mood for a "robe and slippers" kind of cozy scent and this might be it. I can pick out the tonka and leaves but overall it gives me a tobacco impression, even though I know there's no tobacco. It's a little earthy, but also cozy and a touch sweet. And it seems to be the perfect "volume" or whatever you call that - sillage or throw I guess? It's not too strong, but just strong enough. I wore it to a work meeting and didn't have any worries that my scent was too strong (something I worry about sometimes).

I think I smell the juniper first, kind of sparkly. It wasn't what I expected, and for a long time I didn't think I liked this. Later this smells like sweet woody incense and I finally figured out I love it. I don't really smell leather or patchouli, but I can pick out sandalwood (maybe with vanilla, like the description says). It's warm and a little smokey.

There's a scent in the current Halloween section, called Wax Cylinders, with this description: "Polished mahogany, soft leather, and gold-molded wax". I'm not sure if it's actually a beeswax note but I have a bottle on the way. I'll try to remember to report back. I used to work in the bulk herbs section of a health food store, so I'm somewhat familiar with the scent of beeswax. : )

This just doesn't work for my skin or nose, it's very high pitched, strong, perfumey, headachey (for me), and I've had to wash it off every time I've tried it. I thought I liked both notes but it just doesn't agree with me.

#61 I'm not an expert on floral scents but this smells like tuberose single note to me. It's definitely floral (obviously), with no background notes that I can detect. I compared it to Easter Lily single note, that scent is a touch soapy and powdery, and this isn't like that. This actually resembles Tubereuse Criminelle, a little bit (I had a sample once), cool and rubbery and almost a hint of menthol about it. So yeah......tuberose!

Every leaf tells a story. The first thing I notice is that this scent is STRONG, and I think it gave me a scent headache when I first tried it. I do like it, though. For a few seconds it smells like soap, right when I first put it on. That feeling fades a bit as it dries. This is a very strong nag-champa-like incense scent. It does have a borderline soapy aspect, but I have always thought that nag champa smells a little soapy, so that fits here. This scent doesn't really change much over time. The leaves note is present and I think it combines to amp up the incense feeling. I really can't pick out any sugared chestnut, except for possibly a hint. I have a feeling this scent needs to age and settle down a bit. It does smell a bit like Midnight on the Midway, but stronger. I imagine wearing this in the summer but I'm weird like that. : )

I recommend Nyarlathotep, even though citrus isn't mentioned in the description, it has a general citrus vibe (maybe more lemony than orangey?), and IMO it is a nice balance of fresh and light incense - I think it's great in warm weather.

Hi and welcome! I'm not familiar with LA Law. But I had a couple ideas for sort of traditional manly Bpal scents along the lines of those you mentioned. Bow & Crown of Conquest Bram Stoker Dee Antony I also really like Djinn Mad Hatter Baron Samedi Odin I know there are more that I'm forgetting but I'm sure others will reply and there is also a longer topic around here somewhere all about manly or masculine scents if that's what you're looking for. Good luck, come back and let us know what you liked!

ELEGY IX: THE AUTUMNAL No spring nor summer Beauty hath such grace As I have seen in one autumnall face. Young beauties force our love, and that's a rape, This doth but counsel, yet you cannot 'scape. If 'twere a shame to love, here 'twere no shame, Affection here takes Reverence's name. Were her first years the Golden Age; that's true, But now she's gold oft tried, and ever new. That was her torrid and inflaming time, This is her tolerable Tropique clime. Fair eyes, who asks more heat than comes from hence, He in a fever wishes pestilence. Call not these wrinkles, graves; if graves they were, They were Love's graves; for else he is no where. Yet lies not Love dead here, but here doth sit Vowed to this trench, like an Anachorit. And here, till hers, which must be his death, come, He doth not dig a grave, but build a tomb. Here dwells he, though he sojourn ev'ry where, In progress, yet his standing house is here. Here, where still evening is; not noon, nor night; Where no voluptuousness, yet all delight In all her words, unto all hearers fit, You may at revels, you at counsel, sit. This is Love's timber, youth his under-wood; There he, as wine in June enrages blood, Which then comes seasonabliest, when our taste And appetite to other things is past. Xerxes' strange Lydian love, the Platane tree, Was loved for age, none being so large as she, Or else because, being young, nature did bless Her youth with age's glory, Barrenness. If we love things long sought, Age is a thing Which we are fifty years in compassing; If transitory things, which soon decay, Age must be loveliest at the latest day. But name not winter-faces, whose skin's slack; Lank, as an unthrift's purse; but a soul's sack; Whose eyes seek light within, for all here's shade; Whose mouths are holes, rather worn out than made; Whose every tooth to a several place is gone, To vex their souls at Resurrection; Name not these living deaths-heads unto me, For these, not ancient, but antique be. I hate extremes; yet I had rather stay With tombs than cradles, to wear out a day. Since such love's natural lation is, may still My love descend, and journey down the hill, Not panting after growing beauties so, I shall ebb out with them, who homeward go. - John Donne Red maplewood, plum leaves, fir needle, wildflower honey, patchouli, hazelnut, and green cognac. I'll be honest, I didn't like this when I tried it yesterday. But I knew I wanted to try it again today. It's a strange scent but I am compulsively bringing my wrist up to my nose, like I can't leave it alone. The throw from a foot away is really nice, yet it becomes odd when sniffing up close. Yesterday I thought smelled very weird, metallic or something. But this may be that wonderful kind of scent that I don't like at first but end up loving in the end. So what does it smell like? I am thinking of a green ectoplasmic mist in a dewy forest. None of the notes stands out; it all seems very balanced. If I concentrate, I can pick out the honey and fir, and possibly patchouli. The balance is a little more fir than wildflowers, and for that reason, I think some people might call this masculine, whereas I think it is completely unisex. It really isn't girly but it's not exactly dude-fume either. : ) I always thought Samhain had a hidden note of honey, and that is what this honey reminds me of.....Samhain but with a shot of green, and something like the sake note in Men Ringing Bells. There's something almost fruity but I think that might be the cognac. It almost seems like it should be a spring scent, but it's not....it's very much a fall scent despite the green-ness. It's like an early fall morning when you wake up and realize it's getting cold already, and even though summer is still in the air, you can't deny that autumn is on the way. Still not sure if I love it. I'm curious about what others will think of it.