dorothy humbird

Just received this today - ordered a 5ml completely untested because vanilla and carnation are two of my very favorite notes. It immediately smelled familiar, reminding me of Maiden, and Alice, and (i think, it's been FOREVER) Pink Moon 2007 -- i.e., all the scents that helped me realize how much i love BPAL's carnation note in the first place!

 

Freshly on it also struck me with memories of Luna Moth - one of my other carnation favorites. they are both sweetly rounded, almost juicy - in Luna Moth i have always attributed that to the Asian pear note, but apparently the carnation has more influence in that regard than i expected! 

 

will wait to see what the drydown feels like, but so far i'm DEEPLY pleased! 🌼😍

Wulric is my new scent boyfriend.

 

I originally got a decant of this with the sneaky intent of conniving my actual boyfriend into wearing it for me. While it smells great on him (really! great!), it smells magnificent on me as well. My skin chemistry turns this into a chocolatey vanilla musk with the edge of lavendar that keeps it from being too foody (I prefer not to veer too far into "gourmand" territory).

 

I wear this when I want to be a little mysterious but mostly cozy and comforted. The vetiver isn't obvious on me - just a backround thought, like the occasional recollection that a wolfman is actually pretty f'ing dangerous, even if he makes an excellent snuggler. Don't piss him off.

 

 

WHY DOES THE THROW OF THIS SMELL LIKE BLACK LACE ON ME OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

 

H'ok.

 

So, closer to my wrist I can smell the tobacco more, and sort of detect that the coconut is there. These two remind me of Perversion. Additionally, smelling this out of the decant vial, I was all "oh yeah this is kind of like Snow White I can see why others were putting that in their reviews."

 

BUT.

 

THE THROW.

 

Hrnrnghrngnghgggh!

 

Black Lace is numero uno for me, people. My brain hurts from wanting a bottle of this NOW.

 

So that this is not all pure comparisons: this is a gorgeously shimmering pale-musky-sweet scent with a faint bright almost-lemony note sparkling overtop. Smooth as vanilla cream, but kind of effervescent. AND I WANT MORE OF IT.

 

 

ETA: So... this doesn't actually throw that much like Black Lace to my nose anymore. It is still good in its own right, but definitely has more in common with Perversion - though it is quite its own scent, mind. It sticks around on my skin for a whole day at work, and I like every waft of it I catch.

Hoooooooly crap. As soon as I applied this, I was reeling. Honeyed-musky vanilla roses mrrrrrrrhrrrmrmrrn. This is a very seductive scent. The roses are sweet and golden on me, not heavy and ripe red -- all of the muskiness is coming from the other notes. The roses float over the base notes with a delicate ethereality, sweetened even further with honey.

 

Basically, this is what I wished Abhisarika would do on my skin. So, so good.

 

As this has been wafting up while I've had it on, I keep thinking I smell something chocolatey. Must be my brain confusing the cream for chocolate? It's good, though. Mrmrm. Also, this goes way beyond Alice for me: Alice is little-girl sweet in a way that Katrina van Tassel sways right past, into "enthralling" territory.

 

This is sticking close to my skin as it's settled down. It'd be a good candidate for my scent locket, since I love how it amps when first warmed up and I would be sad to lose the wafting quality to my skin's voracious appetite. Oh, Miss van Tassel, I'm quite delighted to have made your acquaintance.

Very soft, smooth, and (dare I say it?) pearlescent. The hazelnut is lending a warmth to it that is comforting. (Whoops! No hazelnut in this one. Must be the orris-coconut combination.) I'm not sold on it yet -- something about it smells kind of lotion-y, or suntan lotion-y. (Got to be the coconut.)

Still, oddly soothing.

Reminding me of Cordelia? (They have no notes in common so this is kind of inexplicable.)

Sweeeet, sweet vanilla-floral. Goes kind of plastic-powdery on my skin after a little while, but is somewhat combatable with blending.

There's something oddly appealing to me about the weird plasticy-sweet direction this heads, so I've kept Regan around. I like her best when she's accompanying another scent on my skin, but she's got a weird charm of her own.

Starts out too cloying-sweet for my tastes, and then something floral develops a presence that I'm just not into. On inspection of the notes, I think the magnolia is the culprit -- I kept smelling something that reminded me of The Grindhouse, and so there's two mysteries solved! Magnolia is evidently not for me.

 

Wow, this is so much more deeply beautiful than I was expecting. With all the florals, I predicted this would be high and bothersome, but on reflection, many of the florals in 'this blend have a sort of foodier component, or a resinousness, that is unlike the ones that cause more trouble (jasmine and magnolia on me). I get a very sweet headiness from this -- the honey, red wine, lotus, and osmanthus are probably all swirling together to create this effect. I expect the cassia is contributing a little bit of spice, and the musk rose a little more fullness. I get no tobacco at all, and couldn't tell you what balsam or hibiscus smell like in the first place, so there's no telling if they're present or not.

 

Only 5 minutes on, though, this is already fading, and turning just a tad soapy. This isn't necessarily bad, because the intensity of application when wet is way too much to maintain.

 

An hour and a half later, this has no throw at all. It was dubious that I'd fall for Kali from the start, but given this turn of events I'm not putting Kali on the keeper list.

Holy intense teak and tobacco. I can see the similarities people are drawing between Anti-M and Glowing Vulva, but GV stays just over the line of golden wearability for me, whereas the Anitkythera Mechanism is just a shade too manly for my tastes. Very, very strong, dark, and devious.

I've noticed in a few blends with tobacco that I've tested that there is some danger in that note dominating. I can't handle its presence in Perversion, Elegba, and now apparently Anti-M (but it behaves on me in Black Lace, Red Lantern, and a handful of others).

I passed this one on to another BPALer before long, but now I'm wishing I'd kept it long enough to wrangle the current gentleman friend into testing it. Ah, the intricacies of frugal BPALery.

First on my skin, strongly smells of sandalwood. I'm reminded of Anne Bonny, with less spice. Can vaguely tell there is some floral element at work, too, softening the wood a little bit - it doesn't smell as sawdusty as Anne Bonny (which I don't mean in a bad way, but the splintery woodiness is less prominent.)

 

On my finger I can smell a lemony element that, not having looked at the notes list in a while, I am surprised to detect. It's a little peachy, too -- osmanthus?

 

I guess I shouldn't be too chuffed with myself for calling that, since I did read the notes description at some point. But yeah - the osmanthus and peach are making themselves evident now, and I think the vanilla is smoothing things along, too. Peaches and cream served in a delicately carved rosewood dish. I'm glad the other notes are giving the woodsy notes more competition. Let's see what'll come with further drydown....

 

I'm really liking what Belle Vinu is doing on my skin. Comparisons I keep wanting to draw are to Harikata (but less sharply powdery), La Vague (but mellower), and still Anne Bonny - the sandalwood remains prominent, but I like how it is lulled here by the softer golden notes. I can't predict whether I'll end up reaching for this all the time, but I'll certainly be hanging on to the imp to find out.

Must just mention Shub-Niggurath as another spicy baked goods option. Less buttery and more creamy, but definitely puts me in mind of cinnamon buns.

How have I not left a review for The Illustrated Woman? Shame on me.

 

Of the Act IV decants I picked up, this is top three (with the Torture Queen and Inez duking it out). Goes on sweet pitchy smokiness - smells a little like natural cleaning products from Seventh Generation and the like. I remember being dubious when I was testing it, but knowing the key was in having the patience to wait.

 

And oh, man. The almost bubblegum-y sweetness of the pine pitch is finally overtaken by the musk, vanilla, and cohorts about 3 hours after I first get it on my skin. At this point into drydown, there is still a certain tingle of the pine left in the blend, but it is smoother, slightly deeper, and warmed all the way through with delicious golden vanilla-honey.

 

I wish I was doing better in the finances department, because I would totally snag a bottle of this while we still cling to the CD.

This surprised me with how much I've liked wearing it over the past two days. I guess I was expecting something to go awry with the amber, or else the myrtle. Instead....

 

It starts off pretty warm with the amber, but there's also a strong green note that reminds me a little bit of Rose Red and some other greenish blends I've tried. I want to say possibly Cordelia? But now that I've looked up the myrtle note, I can see the connection with The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, also.

 

Anyway. The green myrtle note doesn't dominate for very long. It's overtaken by the spicy creaminess of the carnation in short order, and the apple blossom kind of hangs out at the edges, sweetening things up a bit with a delicate petal-floral simper. For a blend with a relatively short note list, this smells surprisingly complex. Plus, it sticks around on my skin for a good while -- always a bonus!

 

Update a few days later: This infused itself in the satiny (acetate?) scarf I was wearing one day, and remained as the most intoxicating spiced vanilla-ish scent. I was delighted. I'm definintely keeping this imp. (Frimp from the lab! This is the first Lab frimp I've ever received that was on my wishlist, amazingly.)

Holy goodness, this one's a keeper. It's all sweet, strong lavender going on, but mellows almost instantly into a lavender-tinged Dorian (like one of those old photographs taken before color, that was hand-stained after being developed... this is a portrait of a dapper gentleman that's tinted a purple-mauve.)

 

Except, there's Snake Oil calling some of the shots here. While Dorian is super, super sweet lemon cookie on me, it's kept from that extreme here from the incense notes in Snake Oil, and the Lilith-y additions.

 

I have been wearing this to sleep on and off over the past several weeks, and the best part is that it will cling to whatever I've worn to bed and then in the morning (and sometimes the next evening, if I'm recycling pajamas) it has dried down to a gorgeous, nuanced vanilla brushed with lavender. Absolutely glad I picked this one up. <3

I can smell references with this blend to Belle Epoque (mandarin, vanilla, opium), but there is more of an incensy feel, and slightly more sweetness. It starts out rather juicy-tangerine-sweet, but over time mellows a little under the influence of the opoponax and musks.

 

Despite my relying on red musk to sex up a blend on my skin, this blend remains pretty refined for me. The feel I get from it is sort of a strawberry-golden glowing. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a ton of staying power for me... but I believe I'll hold on to my bottle. With age, it could turn even more beautiful.

SO GOOD.
Something about this blend reminds me of Black Lace, but it could just be that I got it simultaneously in a swap with a 1/2 decant of BL from a sweet forumite. The white musk and oakmoss provide a smooth bed and soft coverlet for the sweetness of the peach, and the heliotrope is an extra sparkly brightness. I don't notice bergamot in and of itself, but the whole effect blended together is of refreshing loveliness. Not much morphing, just lovely sweetness.

I like this one a lot.

I was initially somewhat pleased with Bathsheba, according to my first notes:

"This has gotten better as it has sat on my skin. Started out kind of thin, one-note plum and musk, and has deepened into really, really beautiful smoothness. My skin really loves musk, I venture to say."

 

But, having tested it several times since then, I'm just not feeling a connection. It smells fairly straightforward plum, and I like a little more complexity. I'll have to swap this one onward.

My notes when I first tested Pink Moon 07:

"150% carnation, but the real deal. This is a bunch of carnations in your face. I like carnation, so this is a yay!"

 

 

O, that I had wads of cash to track down bottles of this stuff and snap it up!

 

There is something comforting about this scent to me -- undoubtedly some of this has to do with my 5 years working in a flower shop and the associated nostalgia, but I guess I've always liked the scent of carnations over, say, stargazer lilies or peonies or paperwhites. Phlox, too, is delightfully sweet to my nose. Combined in Pink Moon, they are slightly peppy and slightly creamy, and all loveliness and soothingness. I think I'd wear it to be married in, or to a tea with the Queen (or any admirable lady), or to wear a prim yet sassy dress on a warm, sunny day. I think this is the scent that Margaret Dashwood smells like, aged 16 (you know, a little less tomboyish, but still a bit cheeky). [/random Austen reference]

 

 

In sum: I <3 Pink Moon '07!

Alas, my decant went the way of many a forumite's Strawberry Moon (if board lore is to be trusted). My notes when I tested it:

"Starts off strawberry juice/syrup, then goes through a weird acetone stage, then smells like strawberry cupcake dolls. Kind of plasticky on me. Not going to need any more of this, at all. "

 

It's always kind of a relief to test a rare and not fall in love!

*peers at months-old notes*

 

So, when I first tested this, my scrawlings were:

"Develops nicely on my skin in very tasty ways. Blackberry cake with heavy, sugary frosting smeared all over it. Gmmgm."

 

Usually I am not into foody-bakery scents, preferring to avoid anything that literally smells like an identifiable food. But, this one's doable for me. And not just doable: really good. I think it's the blackberry... I am a sucker for drupes. Wish I had more than a sniffie!

*blows dust off old review notes; squints*

 

Aha! Hony Mone... looks like I thought it smelled like "honeysuckle and lily of the valley. With honey." And I also noted that this may have been extracted "from assal region." At any rate, although I know I love the smell of fresh honeysuckle, there's this block for me where I can't wear primarily floral notes that don't smell grounded enough in other, soothing basenotes. So, off I swapped Hony Mone. Still a beautiful scent! Just... y'know. Not my beautiful scent.

 

ETA: I'm also remembering now that, as someone upthread mentioned, the honey was hitting my nose with cloying sweetness. So, that was a dealbreaker too. Sorry Hony!

Heh! I just posted a review of Marianne that I turned into basically a giant red musk comparison. I concur: Marianne is a sexy bitch; emphasis on both sexy and bitch.

 

My hands-down favorite is Mme. Moriarty.

Smut is supposed to have a bunch of musks, but I can definitely tell that red musk is a prominent player -- there's a distinctive sweet juiciness that gives it away.

I nth Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream -- like a silly fruit cocktail, but WAY BETTER. The red musk and vanilla keep this from being too silly.

 

There's this mental dividing line I have between "sweet/juicy" red musk and "dark/dirty/dusty" red musk. I would divvy it up as follows:

 

SWEET/JUICY

Mme. Moriarty

Smut

Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream

Snake Charmer (even though it lists Arabian rather than red musk as a note, it smells very red-musk-y, at least on me!)

 

DARK/DIRTY/DRY

Scherezade

The Great Sword of War

Marianne

 

 

Of course, opinions are sure to vary on this, but I thought it was worth noting.

My preferences tend towards the juicier end of the spectrum, but on certain days I want to feel a little more austere, and then I head for the Scherezade/GSoW/Marianne.

Like other prominent red musk blends, Marianne seems to play nicely with my skin chemistry. I get the deep, sweet sensuality of the red musk front and center when I first apply it, underscored by the earthiness of the patchouli, and honed a little by the bergamot. There is an almost dusty quality to this blend that I can't account for except through speculation -- I suspect it's mostly the patch, but also perhaps the rootiness of the lotus root is what I'm picking up on. The floral feel is hard for me to pin down -- I'm sure it's both the mimosa and the orchid, but I'm not familiar enough with both to say whether one is more dominant than the other.

 

This isn't a sweet, fruity scent to me in the way that Mme. Moriarty and Snake Charmer are on my skin. While the swarthy licentiousness of the red musk is immediately familiar, Marianne takes this concept to slightly more calculating, straightlaced (and I mean that in the kinky tight-laced corsetting sense), and austere place. I think it'd be the perfect scent to inspire a sense of dread in awe in one's underlings, or potential submissives. Or anyone, really.

 

More comparisons: this is halfway to Scherezade from Mme. Moriarty's tent. Some day I will do a visual X/Y chart (like this one) representing my feelings on the red musk blends (Smut, Mme. Moriarty, Scherezade, Marianne, The Grindhouse, Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream, The Great Sword of War, etc. etc.) of my acquaintance, and then all will be made clear.

 

Anyway, verdict: I'm keeping the decant, I think. Probably. It's a nice switch-up from the Madame on occasion. But, I might be fickle about it down the line. Time will tell.

Mme. Moriarty and Morocco are my default "I'm feelin' frisky" scents. I will also endorse Inez and The Illustrated Woman (mostly when dried down; before that it's a bit too piney), plus some GC old reliables like La Petite Mort and Vixen.

 

Sorry you're losing the drive -- good luck getting it back!

ATHENS

 

Reminded me first of Blood Kiss, and then of Hetairae. All have honey, and there are common notes of myrrh, red wine, or clove between at least two at a time. Otherwise I have no idea why I find the similarities.

 

First on, I get mostly honey and wine grapes; myrrh must be that deep, voluptuous scent in the background. After some drydown on my skin, I keep getting wafts of a sweet honey scent sort of spiced with myrrh. The wine note isn't too sharp or too sickly sweet - it just adds an interesting dimension to the sweetness of the honey. There isn't much floral that I notice from this - at least, not enough to detract from my appreciation of the honey-myrrh vibe.

 

I've got a little crush on Athens right now. See, I had a long-term fling with Blood Kiss, but it took me a while to realize that as much as I loved his sweeter side, I couldn't really handle the vetiver lurking underneath. Hetairae inspired a brief obsession that I soon realized was totally superficial -- after the first five minutes I realized she was WAY too high pitched (too much clove?). But I think Athens is the middle sibling here. Charming, but moderated. I'm gonna see where this crush goes.