gentle-twig
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Everything posted by gentle-twig
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Ghoulnextdoor is right on the money with this paradoxical sliquid scent. A blizzard of frosty aldehydes clears to reveal a vast white tea glacier—limpid, smooth, frozen solid. As it cracks and slides, it reveals glimpses of moss below until it meets a frozen ocean where sea spray is suspended in the air, the salt and ice forming nacreous, flowing sculptures where land, sea, and sky meet in a reconciliation of the elements. In a different register: I tried this decant after Snowman Beatdown, which immediately won me over. They share that frosty opening, but the Crumpet-Fanlight Expedition is less of a total white out and dries down to a remarkably polished white tea chypre—genteel indeed, full of textural interest but somehow also smooth, polished, with a fastidious quality that feels appropriate for the ball gowned and smoking jacketed world of Edward Gorey. White tea and ambergris are both hit or miss for me, but they work so wonderfully together here, the ambergris encrusting the sharper edges of the tea, the tea lending an herbaceous backdrop to the salt sparkle of the ambergris. The musk here is not a classic white musk, but nor is it particularly funky. It casts a silver sheen on the proceedings, and lends this scent a wonderful sleekness. Color associations: Blinding white and the lime green version translucent blue glacial ice. Scent associations: Lyonesse in a cold snap, Mars and Venus takes to the tundra. More complex and hence not quite as chilly as Snowman Beatdown. A pale green chypre counterpoint to the deep red Pomegranate and Scarlet Chypre. Verdict: Love, my immediate favorite of my (overall exceptionally successful) Yule decants.
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This one is kind of the inverse of what I expected: a snowball with a shadow of wood and incense rather than a frost dusted branch. In the opening I get the same aldehyde frost as in other Yules like The Crumpet-Fanlight Expedition and Snowman Beatdown. Here it is subtler than in the other two scents, scrubbed quite clean by eucalyptus and given heft by ambergris. I would say this is an ambergris-dominant blend, and it is doing a kind of gourmand frosting thing on my skin that I don’t care for. There is a supporting sizzle of opoponax and at times I get a dry splintery wood, not something I would necessarily recognize as oud. Over the life of the scent, the wood gets stronger and there are moments when it really does conjur rime-coated branches. At these moments this is a love for me, but they are too fleeting. I know from other blends like Lace Lichen that the particular effect of the ambergris that I dislike here is likely to fade with time, so I will hold onto my imp but so far this is unlikely to inspire a full bottle purchase. Overall, a chilly, chiaroscuro scent but with an emphasis on the bright white notes. I would recommend for people who are looking for a frosty scent that isn’t just a blast of ice.
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All frosty aldehydes—the kind used in sport colognes like Polo Sport, and more recently and intensely in CdG’s Odeur 10–and a little bit of sprightly sage. Great staying power and moderate throw, an easy breezy chilly scent. Yes, it goes cologne-y. That is part of the charm here! If you are looking for a cold, soapy, (now) classic masculine profile, with a little cheery herbal twist, this is definitely for you. It is very simple and enjoyable. With simple scents like this it’s hard for me to know whether I will continue to simply enjoy them or get bored—time will tell!
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Got this as a free decant from a lovely decanter here on the forums and I love it so much. Soft and sparkly patchouli, frosty aldehydes. Not much vanilla for me. Really hope this one gets brought back some day !
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2025 Version: This is one that is difficult to parse based on the description. There’s a lot of overlaps between “cologne” and “herbs,” and possibly even “ashes” and “cake” ! I will say that there is a gourmand aspect to this iteration, albeit subtle. The opening is buttery with a bit of herbs and possibly moss? But quickly a luminous citrus enters the scene. I imagine this is part of the cologne accord, but it brings to mind a barely sweet panettone (or another austere Italian dessert) with candied citrus peel. The scent straddles the divide between herbal citrus cake gourmand and classic fougère for a while, before the cologne finally wins out. Now it is in line with some other masculine BPALs of the more fae sort. If I had to take a stab at some of the components in this cologne it would be: bergamot (and possibly petitgrain), lavender, tonka, oakmoss, possibly musk. I totally get the Dorian comparisons and I also see a resemblance to Jareth. There is a kind of gold fougere glow to Dumb Cake that both of those scents also have. Ironically, I find Dumb Cake to be much less sugary and therefore more wearable than Dorian, whose cotton candy halo always feels like it belongs to someone else on me. Instead of sugar, this Dumb Cake is dusted with… flour? It may be the ash accord (if not I don’t know where the ash is here) but it isn’t smoky at all, and it reminds me a lot of the flour accord in Marlou’s Doliphor. I eyed this back when it first appeared in 2014 and didn’t get a bottle, so I’m glad I could snag one this year! It’s everything I was hoping it would be: a little dapper, a little spooky, a little cold, but a little cozy too. For the moment it’s quite soft, but surprisingly persistent. Very very happy with this blind buy.
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I ordered an imp of this recently along with Morocco and Scherezade to try out some of the lab’s spiced musk blends. At first, Morocco felt the most wearable to me, a vivid blend of bright spices. It wasn’t super exciting to me but it was very nice. Now that it has settled, the honey and musk do something on the drydown that I don’t like very much. It’s not even weird or funky, just not to my tastes. Conversely, as Morocco ages its surprisingly buttoned-up charm wins me over more and more.
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Air and Sunshine Galore Home & Linen Spray
gentle-twig replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Atmosphere
This is mostly about the citrus for me, perhaps mixed but mostly LEMON! The amber and heliotrope sweeten it up and I get the impression of a lemon cough drop, only with more depth and complexity. I think the amber is really keeping this from going into commercial cleaner territory despite its subtlety. The aldehydes make this feel open and airy where it could go all sticky otherwise. At times they read a touch soapy but mostly they just make the scent feel bright and make this one pretty addictive for me. I have been loving using this as an air freshener in my bathroom, where the squeaky clean elements feel right at home. I don’t get anything metallic at all. -
Agree with others about the greige/pink vibe of this scent. The dead leaves are there but staying in their lane, not pulling citrus but feeling light and fluttery and just a tad husky. As far as DL blends go it reminds me of October or October 32 but in a musky vanilla direction that opens cool and airy and dries down to something like a felted millennial pink frosted cookie on a wooden table. Cooler and thicker than October; leaner, more outdoorsy, and less soapy than October 32. I thought this lacked interest at first but the more I wear my decant the more it is growing on me and feeling more complex and interesting in its surprising woody nuances.
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Dead Leaves, Funeral Lilies, and Beeswax Candles Home & Linen Spray
gentle-twig replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Atmosphere
This one is really nice. The dead leaves don’t really read as such to me here. The Néroli/petitgrain that is in that accord comes to the fore in wonderful harmony with the creamy lilies. There may be a hint of something brown and toffee-ish that I get from many of the “browner” dead leaves blends, but it might be a facet of the beeswax at play. The beeswax is definitely a major player, but I wouldn’t necessarily be able to pin it down as beeswax. Nothing funky, just round, slightly creamy sweetness. Dead Leaves, Funeral Lilies, and Beeswax Candles actually reminds me a lot of Elizabeth Taylor Sparkling White Diamonds, only less sharp and warmer. I think this is totally viable as a personal scent on clothing, but I have also enjoyed it as a warm, golden, yet creamy floral room scent. -
I previously received a mislabeled decant that was supposed to be zombie flash but was (probably) pumpkin trash bags. The decanter kindly replaced that decant but I find Zombie Flash puzzling even now. This is definitely the right scent now, the mushrooms and ink are clearly present. But otherwise Zombie Flash is quite surprising! In the opening I get something quite sharp that I struggle to identify, possibly a “shampoo” style musk wedded to a subtle floral? The ink is there as well, and clashes discordantly with whatever that sharp note is. There is also a deep sweetness present that recalls decomposition and just a hint of moss, giving an impression of mildew. I find this jumble quite unsettling, and it could almost belong to this year’s Yellow Wallpaper collection but for that dark ink note. Soon I get something almost indolic before the ink and mushroom really start to come into their own. This was the point at which I thought “yep, this is definitely the right one this time.” The sweetness starts to come to the fore while also smelling less off-putting. Now there is a distinct tart fruity quality. I had wondered whether brains might be a gummy candy accord before I tried Zombie flash, and this is the closest ZF comes to that preconception. The scent begins to get mossier around the edges but never really loses that fruity quality. It kinda just gets softer until it fades away. Overall, well, I don’t like ZF that much. Its clean facets and decomposing facets come together in a way that is just too uncanny together. I was hoping for graveyard dirt and ink, but this all about the mushrooms and brains. I hope that more people try it and review it because I have a hard time making sense of this one and I hope it is a more coherent and beautiful experience for others !
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I previously received a mislabeled decant that was supposed to be zombie flash but was (probably) pumpkin trash bags. The decanter kindly replaced that decant but I find Zombie Flash puzzling even now. This is definitely the right scent now, the mushrooms and ink are clearly present. But otherwise Zombie Flash is quite surprising! In the opening I get something quite sharp that I struggle to identify, possibly a “shampoo” style musk wedded to a subtle floral? The ink is there as well, and clashes discordantly with whatever that sharp note is. There is also a deep sweetness present that recalls decomposition and just a hint of moss, giving an impression of mildew. I find this jumble quite unsettling, and it could almost belong to this year’s Yellow Wallpaper collection but for that dark ink note. Soon I get something almost indolic before the ink and mushroom really start to come into their own. This was the point at which I thought “yep, this is definitely the right one this time.” The sweetness starts to come to the fore while also smelling less off-putting. Now there is a distinct tart fruity quality. I had wondered whether brains might be a gummy candy accord before I tried Zombie flash, and this is the closest ZF comes to that preconception. The scent begins to get mossier around the edges but never really loses that fruity quality. It kinda just gets softer until it fades away. Overall, well, I don’t like ZF that much. Its clean facets and decomposing facets come together in a way that is just too uncanny together. I was hoping for graveyard dirt and ink, but this all about the mushrooms and brains. I hope that more people try it and review it because I have a hard time making sense of this one and I hope it is a more coherent and beautiful experience for others !
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October surprised me. I don’t get anything cold or cologney, just a classic DL (perhaps a little sharper than average) over sap and light spices. The sap is doing that resin buttery thing and is slightly sweet. I suspect that there’s styrax at work here, but it’s also more complex than just styrax. This is one of those scents that you apply and then forget about and then an hour or two later are struck by its beauty! By then spices start to sizzle at the edges of the scent and it is just an atmospheric, autumnal delight. There is a definite family resemblance with Samhain, but October is leaner, lighter (in both hue and weight). It feels perfect for those sere autumn days splashed with slanting light. In my collection, I already have last year’s Dead Leaves, Black Tea, and Bergamot, and October 32. I don’t think I would reach for this over those, but if you have tried October 32 and didn’t vibe with the clean sweater accord there or found the amber too cloying, October is your girl.
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I love witch flash ! It sits in that frizzly place where incense and spices come together, with a little extra earthiness and tattoo ink to make things a little edgier. The tattoo ink feels a little bit sharper than the ink note I’m used to, but it’s definitely related. Otherwise I get sandalwood, patchouli, and a little frankincense that gives it that spicy “sparkle” overlap with the warm spices that are also here. There’s other stuff going on too, and it definitely has some mystery notes in common with GC Baba Yaga. That scent is one I keep an imp of around because it fascinates me but ultimately feels unwearable for me. THIS on the other hand feels just beautiful despite some elements (almost industrial ink, bitter spices, gnarly patchouli) that threaten to go harsh. And it makes me feel more like myself. The definite winner out of my weenie decants.
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Starts with graveyard dirt, surrounded by that cool glow from Dorian and warmed by Snake Oil’s spices. Their shared vanilla then comes to the fore. I love the combination of cool vanilla and spiced soil ! As it progresses there is a gradual darkening and warming of the vanilla note, while the clean fougere aspects of Dorian come out to play. I always think there is a clean aspect to graveyard dirt’s moss, and this just amps that part of the scent up. But there is still an undercurrent of ever warmer vanilla and spices. Eventually the warming element here becomes legible as musks and patchouli and for a moment I love it. The patchouli in particular is deep dark and sultry, but somehow retains a lot of what I like about lighter versions of this note that I’ve encountered in other SO variants. I notice the ambient musks start to turn a little weird and then—horror of horrors—something in Hiss and Hearse turns sour. I’m talking vinegar level, almost ammonia sour. NOOOOOOO!! As an enjoyer of Dorian and Graveyard Dirt this was checking a lot of boxes for me before things went south. I am gonna hold onto this decant and hope things improve !
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This one is much more than the sum of its parts. It is at once recognizable as a “perfume” of a familiar genre (spiced amber) and also evocative of the landscape in the poem, replete with dead grasses and leaves, and stiff, blackened seed heads. I don’t even really want to discuss notes here because none of them dominate, but I suppose the most important are the black amber and the khus on my skin. There was some combination up top that was momentarily unpleasant, probably the dead leaves with the chrysanthemum. But even that felt very reminiscent of a damp, dying landscape. The rest is straightforwardly gorgeous, deep but not overwhelming. I find this to be one of the driest (in terms of sweetness) amber blends from BPAL I have tried: a dark brown amber with almost bitter spicy, incense, and green elements. It is all melancholic beauty that is difficult to put into words. — My boyfriend immediately asked what I was wearing when I walked into the room he was in and told me he really liked it. So I guess there is a lot of throw right off the bat. He also said that it reminded him of magazine perfume strips from the 90s (?). Maybe CK Obsession ? — As this has settled, an unlisted musk has emerged and it is now reminding me of several “masculine” leaning green (and imo also musk) blends I have and love from the lab—like a warmer, more outdoorsy and less overtly masculine version of “Mars and Venus” with its amber and stealth “velvet” musk or an ambery, again less overtly masculine version of “Lu Zhishen Pulls the Weeping Willow Upside Down” with its pillowy musk topped with just-bitter green notes. So, yes, I definitely enjoy this one as well, but there may be too much overlap for me to keep it around. If you enjoy those blends but found them too harsh and cold, or want a little bit of spice or dried leaves and grasses instead of moss or wood or patchouli, this one is for you.
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This one has smelled a little different each time I’ve worn it, but I’m sensing enough consistency that I am gonna wager a review. On my skin this is distinctly an amber blend, but kind of amber+. There is tea deepening and balancing what could be a too toffee sweet amber note, and to that is added a really effective use of the lab’s dead leaf note, here reading brown and crunchy instead of green as they often do (although they are recognizable BPAL DL). Around this amber, we have a variety of paler, more atmospheric notes. The sweater is a scratchy wool accord that I can’t sense most of the time, but to it clings a gardenia perfume (some may say drier sheets, but I welcome this wonderful flower, a similar gardenia can be found in GC Crossroads). In my first test, I also got a distinct mothball note, which made me laugh. Luckily, it has subsided. The cream is a subtle but real presence, and I think there is also some aldehydes here, furthering the “who’s wearing that perfume” vibe and also giving a sense of openness and airiness. The impression I get is of big, crunchy brown sycamore leaves against a bright but overcast sky. Perfect for November ! I have been jokingly calling this Odeur 32 in reference to Comme des Garçons’ Odeur line, because it’s kind of like a BPAL version of those airy harmonies of offbeat notes. This is doing some of what Dead Leaves and Tobacco did back in 2014, but better. It is not very similar to last year’s Dead Leaves, Bergamot, and Black tea or to the other tea and amber blend in my collection, A Cup of Tea in the Verandah. Glad to have this one, especially as it provides that craveable BPAL gardenia in a more wearable package than I’ve encountered before.
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I may not be the best person to post the first review this home and linen spray, as I have never tried the classic perfume version and this is only my second atmo, maybe a decade after I used up my first. But here goes. I figured this was a safe blind buy for me because I love the lab's dirt notes in more complex blends, but even so I was alarmed at the realism here fresh out of the mail. It smelled not only dirty, but distinctly damp. I was worried that as a room spray it may read as mildew. Still, there was something very appealing about this fragrance. I thought as I sniffed it that I would certainly never spray it on my bed linens, but then the next day I couldn't resist. Now that the bottle had some days to settle, the damp aspect is less prominent. It certainly smells like potting soil right away, but the "grave loam" seems to really be more of a top note, as it yields to a drier, dustier dirt note underneath and a good dose of moss. In between, there is the briefest moment of an unexpected but not unpleasant buttery impression (perhaps a resin of some kind?). I actually find this moment a great relief because that moist top note still has scared me with every spray! As for the less ephemeral experience of the scent: there is something about moss notes that always reads as clean to me, from the sometimes soapy vintage oak moss, to the now more ubiquitous tree moss that often reminds me of the scent of crisp winter air. I can't say for sure, but I feel that the moss here leans in more of a contemporary tree moss direction, although I may also be reading the inkier aspects of oak moss as part of the soil accord. Anyway, the moss here is the secret ingredient for me. It adds a sparkling impression and transforms Graveyard Dirt atmosphere spray from mere humdrum and possibly unpleasant realism into the realm of perfume fantasy to me. Yes, dirt. But glamorous dirt! A forest floor you can happily lounge upon without fear of scuffs and stains. As for strength, I think this is just right. Again, it's difficult for me to say how it compares to other home and linen sprays from the lab. A few sprays will fill the room momentarily, but the lingering scent is more subtle. This definitely plays well with other incenses and candles I might be burning, and has a persistent, pleasantly subtle presence for days on rugs and fabrics. But I also have been indulging in additional sprays whenever I do a little cleaning task in my bedroom. I'm obsessed. As is my boyfriend. I was wary of spraying it initially because I wasn't sure how he would feel about it, but he loves it and I'm now considering getting him a bottle of the perfume version for his birthday.
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This one is so strange. I have gone through most of an imp just trying to pin it down. Those broom twigs must be cinnamon, because the cinnamon comes on STRONG and dominates for at least half an hour or so, mingling with a strange pale scent that indeed evokes the color of moths, before yielding to a cold, soapy scent. I get subtle gardenia and yes a little bit of metal. I also think the moss is contributing to the soap quality. But there is more going on here, yielding something smooth, creamy, moonlit. But yes, in a nice way, soapy. I think there is also a touch of frankincense (could this be the “spell” doing the soaking?) and the whole accord reminds me of a softer, creamier, more overtly feminine version of Hermès Caleche at this point. As far as the patchouli goes, I can believe it’s there but it doesn’t draw attention. It’s more like a screen laid over the whole of the composition. I think if the cinnamon weren’t so redolent of seasonal candles and decor, I would like this much more. As it is, I remain ambivalent and intrigued. P.S. Definitely no pineapple for me and my closest BPAL association is Crossroads—that same gardenia note, but much more subtle here. I think I ultimately like Crossroads better but find Baba Yaga more wearable for myself.
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Impressionistically: A wind blows over the desert. It is night, but the heat of the day lingers. Above, the stars shine, below the sand sparkles. You are a hermit, and you are French. The wind brings with it the scent of the formal garden in which you have ensconced yourself, turning a wild oasis into an ordered landscape of stiff hedges. More regular style: Puckery galbanum against a jet black yet somehow airy background. I get a weird peanut butter effect for about 5 minutes shortly after application (the woods and resins doing something weird?) but it dissipates without a trace. Further along in the drydown, the “airy” quality somehow reveals itself to be a play of amber and opoponax—how?! This is one of the lab’s lighter ambers, similar to some of the ambers that were deployed in this year’s Lupers (Lesbian Maidservants, Mars and Venus). And yes there is a subtle sparkly mineralic component, brightening the scent (along with the bright galbanum—black my foot). I would describe the overall mood of this as abstract, detached, meditative but with an active edge. Angular, architectural, but with an atmospheric quality. Slightly masculine, and I have been loving in hot weather. Definitely FB worthy for me, in part because it’s so unlike other BPALs I’ve smelled, almost in line with a CDG fragrance.
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God help you now that the con is over, because I'm sorry to say I love this. I don't necessarily want my hair gloss to be doing the most. I mostly use it as a hair product in part of my wash routine, but gotta get the BPAL goodness wherever I can, right? Sometimes HGs really can overwhelm, though. This one doesn't. It's present but soft and will play nice with your other scents. And it is so lovely. Atmospheric, wistful, and interesting. I get a very modern misty veil of fir, sage, and salt, hovering in front of a more opaque vintage-y orris and moss. The latter accord is just kissed with the amber and cooled by the stone, recalling for me Mars & Venus from this year's Lupers if it were a take on a vintage women's perfume instead of a men's powerhouse cologne. That being said, the elements in question have long been co-opted by unisex and even masculine fragrances (Dior Homme, anyone?), so long-haired gentlemen need not feel qualms, especially with that fir, sage, and sea spray keeping things from becoming too boudoir. As a post-shower product, this is just right. Clean without being soapy, perhaps a touch of spa or salon but in a way that can also yield to the romantic visions of the inspiration. And yes, I do feel that this captures the idea of "glaucous," like the bloom on a grape or a plum, is it matte or glossy, light or dark?
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Ceaselessly By My Side the Demon Stirs
gentle-twig replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
Just a short review for this one — it’s not really for me but I can see it being for many other people. This is a skin scent that gives a matte, slightly sweet and buttery, taupe impression. In turns it is spicy, smoky, powdery. I was hoping for a distinctive oolong tea note, and while I can hunt for a kind of milk oolong nuance, it’s really a small part of a very unified blend. If you are looking for a subtle, versatile “signature scent” type fragrance and have tastes that veer toward sweet, powdery, creamy, ambers with subtle smoke and spice you will enjoy this. Even I enjoy it but I don’t find it inspiring. I will say I hate tonka typically and am totally fine with this blend. Huh! -
Lightning Moon: Black Lilac and Black Tea
gentle-twig replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This one is just gorgeous. I have enjoyed some of the lab's other lilac blends, both when I was getting into BPAL a decade ago (Lysander) and more recently (The Serpent in the Lilacs, Eusapia). But I have never actually FB'd any of them. This one might change that. Black Lilac and Black Tea is fairly linear, and is mostly about the black lilac. For those familiar with Eusapia, this is her dark-featured sister. As with Eusapia, the impression is that of sticking your face into the inflorescences of lilacs still on the bush. I agree with (or maybe believe, since I didn't put my finger on it) @leptonpyr that these are indolic lilacs, because they have a luscious darkness that indoles convey to my nose. If indoles are present, that might account for why these lilacs feel so much darker than the white lilac of Eusapia, or the periwinkle of The Serpent in the Lilacs. I wouldn't say that I am imagining black lilacs, but definitely dark purple. The darkness here isn't solemn or sinister, but saturated. After about 10 minutes, I do get the tea, but if you aren't familiar with the lab's black tea note, you may not be able to pick it out. There aren't really any gourmand or spa associations here. Instead, the tea is a steady and abstract, bittersweet thrum beneath the florals. The tea gets stronger over time on my skin, but though they soften from fleshy spikes into an indigo wash, the lilacs are remarkably persistent. This never becomes a tea-centered scent. The performance is, for me, perfect. Not overpoweringly strong, but definitely present without reaching my nose to my wrist, and weirdly (given the notes) long-lived. Definitely unisex. I think part of the reason I like this better than other lilac blends is that it definitely feels comfortable to me as a man. Eusapia was just as beautiful to me but was a bad "fit" on me. If you like the lab's black tea and lilac notes, I think you will like this blend, but know that it is a heady lilac with bracing tea rather than a fresh lilac with a sugared, indulgent tea. Overall, Black Lilac and Black Tea suggests the insistent buds of spring. Sap returning through thawed wood. Lilacs do not grow from bulbs, but when I wear this I can even pretend that their buds nudge, nudge their way out of the frosty soil instead of being borne aloft on spindly branches. An inevitable and welcome scent. -
This one is really beautiful on me. It opens with something shockingly green. I think theres definitely either Néroli or petitgrain in this mix, and the opening has that green citrus quality that the lab’s dead leaves accord sometimes has. But after that a warm combination of resins begins to bloom. On my skin, this is mostly about the storax/styrax. The myrrh adds a little shadowiness, but the storax is holding this blend aloft in golden light. If I try, I can tell that the balsam is there, but it’s not really a “balsamic” blend. The storax almost reminds me of beeswax, but even though it has a certain sweetness it doesn’t even come close to being cloying. I need to remember that storax might more reliably do what I always want honey notes to do: this scent is warm, golden, but also surprisingly light and airy. The herbs are there as well. They merge with that slightly bitter edge myrrh has so that they become hard to identify, but there is a dry, kitchen cabinet quality (thyme?) to them. Overall this oil feels serious without being gloomy. I can’t help but associate it with encaustic religious icons despite the Egyptian inspiration. There is a stickiness, a dustiness, a golden glow, and a murky depth to this blend that form an intoxicating whole. Anubis starts loud and then grows more intimate surprisingly quickly. I think, though, that it is probably worth FBing for me. Given its place in the GC, I won’t hesitate to reapply.
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Crow Moon: Red Currant and Hay
gentle-twig replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This is still pretty fresh from the lab, but hasn’t really changed much since I got it. Red Currant and Hay is tricky for me to describe; I don’t really know BPAL’s version of either of these notes well. The red currant is recognizable to me, conjuring memories of jellies and scones without going too gourmand. But there is also an almost lemon-y aspect to its tart fruitiness that I wasn’t expecting. The lemon edge adds an impression of pleasant cold to the fruity side of this scent somehow. Meanwhile the hay keeps things hazy and soft. I get flashes of photorealistic hay that smudges out in two directions: toward a slightly tannic, tea-like impression as well as a cozy, fuzzy muskiness. The overall impression is comfortable and nonchalant. Definitely an easy, casual scent that I sometimes put in the “boyfriend” category, reminiscent of a chicly oversized borrowed jacket. (Incidentally I’m about 3 inches taller than my actual boyfriend). Red Currant and Hay is firmly unisex, though. No swashbuckling or va va voom connotations, it just smells good. I am beginning to treasure these lunacy duets in general for just such effortless versatility. But Red Currant and Hay is an especially snuggly version of an “easy grab.” I love hay scents for sleep—it is my lavender. And this feels perfect for that, without being unwearable as a daytime scent. Am I a field mouse curling up in my bed of sun-dried vegetation? Or am I just a good smelling person going about my business? Why not both? Out of my BPAL collection, this somehow reminds me the most of A Cup of Tea in the Verandah. I think something about the way the bright fruity bergamot interacts w the amber and tea to create a delightful phantom fruit compote you’ve never tasted before. Red Currant and Hay is simpler, less polished, less pellucid, more linear, and less showstopping than A Cup of Tea in the Verandah, and the slight muskiness has a kind of vintage BPAL quality that is nowhere to be found in that Yule. -
Frog Moon: Iris and Wild Patchouli
gentle-twig replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This is instant love for me. I have been dreaming of this scent perusing this year’s releases. Lace Lichen, Serpent in the Lilacs: both are lovely, but this delivers what I had hoped each would be before I tested them. The patchouli here is fully dimensional. I don’t get one or two aspects like I often do even in simple blends. Instead I am seeing a full picture of every patchouli I have known. There is that phantom mushroom that patchouli can conjure, that green hissy quality I get in the blends I most enjoy it in, an almost woody huskiness that I enjoy far less when that’s all I get from it, a dark chewiness I have read about but not experienced in the BPAL universe, and a confounding shimmering glow that I am starting to appreciate as an effect of patchouli that I love but never thought to credit it with. But the iris changes everything! The iris is more abstract than the patchouli. I don’t get powdery or earthy orris, but an abstract iris accord made up of cool, steely, and violet purple components. Ther is a definite resemblance to the lab’s paper accord. Somehow the iris makes this into an airy, glassy blend—I definitely understand the associations with the “crystal vase.” I would say the blend veers even a little bit into soap territory (but in the most delightful way) with those violet facets of the iris accord. I’m fascinated by the interplay between the iris and patchouli accords, the way the iris elevates and transforms its wonderfully earthy comrade into something airy, light, dazzling, and clean!