gentle-twig

The serpent in the lilacs is true to its name. The lilacs here are soft and hazy, lacking the tactile quality of some other ljlac blends like Eusapia. But they are definitely lilac! Among them slithers patchouli, acting just how I like it. Nothing gnarly or husky here, just a little bit of shimmering green sharpness, which in a snake context I might describe as “hissy,” which I get more often with the lab’s “green patchouli” or “patchouli leaf” blends. Vanilla and musk soon join the cloudy lilac and feel like very natural companions. I agree w one of the above reviewers that the vanilla feels slinky, and the musk is silvery, cool, and clean without going soapy. The sleek musk, silky vanilla, and flickering patchouli make this feel very modern and chic rather than blousy and romantic, as I expected. I can basically get the patchouli, lilac, vanilla, and musk in turns throughout the wear. I ordered this decant as a concession to my twin, but it turns out I like it much better than they do. It’s just so easy, breezy, and undeniable to me. Pure lilac bliss w just a whisper of danger. This and The Serpent in the Carnations were my first encounters with the legendary Snake Oil and while TSitC didn’t work on me, this makes me excited to try more snakey blends !

The Fox Spirit’s Jest opens with a beautiful gnarl of patchouli, sweetened in wildflower honey given a slightly frosted effect by the silk, similar to the patchouli and aldehydes in Frosty Silkybat HG (which my lovely decanter included a sample of as a freebie). This isn’t a cold scent though, the frost is miraculously body-warm from the gorgeous honey and a subtle application of musk. I have several FBs of blends w strong red silk notes, and here it really melds with the other notes, and doesn’t give a fruity impression as it does in Vision and In Ictu Oculi. I don’t think this should read as soapy on anybody. On the other hand, I don’t usually enjoy patchouli, but here it is really lovely. Honey, too, can be hit or miss, but this is a strong and gorgeous honey reminiscent of wild woodlands but also providing just enough sweetness. So everything is on its best behavior. As it dries down, a tweedy, somewhat dusty, and spicy chypre character emerges. I’m surprised there’s no listed carnation note, because this is definitely a SPICY floral chypre, and there is a family resemblance to other spicy Lupers like The Serpent in the Carnations and The Crimson. I don’t get the rose distinctly yet, but there is a floral airiness to what could be an impenetrable thicket of earthy notes. I still get that vague warmth, as well. I think the musk is just kind of humming along rounding everything out and keeping it a little more approachable. After an hour or two the rose is more distinct, and continues to gain strength as it melds w the musk, and gradually this becomes primarily a rosy musk scent. Overall, this is a really enjoyable complex blend, showcasing the best sides of its most divisive elements. You do need to enjoy a dusty, spicy, even ragged chypre profile, but if that’s you then don’t fear anything else going on here. Edit: Ok based on the other reviews I am experiencing a tremendous skin chemistry win here, so maybe you should fear some stuff going on here. Sitting my butt down and learning.

Buttery rice enlivened by sunny yuzu and fresh jasmine. The butter note dies down and rice becomes starchier and chewier. In the drydown I finally get a subtle tea black tea note, classic BPAL. But with the chewy rice already in play, it doesn’t necessarily have that chewy character I associate with it. Instead, it hovers above this bright and lively scent like a dark veil. I also start to get the smoked vanilla on drydown, bringing this scent into Dorian territory (albeit much more refreshing). The smoke is just the subtlest thread and adds a glimmer of interest. I like this scent, but I don’t like the buttery cast that never quite dissipates. I think this one might struggle to find its audience despite its beauty and coherence. It veers into a lot of controversial territories that don’t necessarily have overlapping fanbases: it’s fresh yet gourmand, with a touch of smokiness. But I also realize if I could tolerate the butteriness this would definitely be a love for me. I’m kind of bummed neither of the shunga tea decants (the other being the first tea ceremony of the year) were obvious winners. I like both of them, but both push me out of my comfort zone into gourmand territory. I will probably hang on to both decants and see if they grow on me or settle into something more comfortable for me.

This scent to me basically breaks down into a sharp, bright frankincense accord over a dark, foody, and slightly funky honey accord. The frankincense is accompanied by the citrus blossoms and cedar, whereas I presume the white honey is getting its darker character from the musky amber. I don’t really get any ylang ylang, which is a shame because it might help bridge the two halves of this scent. This wears like a shunga equivalent of Carved Wooden Nativity Scene on me. I didn’t enjoy Carved Wooden Nativity Scene and while Rapturous Spouses and Curious Cat is more dignified, less cloying, and has a more intriguing complexity, I don’t really care for it either. That being said, it does have a classic shunga feeling about it and is pretty true to the description (except for the ylang ylang), so it will probably be a winner on those who like shungas, dark honey scents, and chiaroscuro effects. I will be going with the sunnier and frothier Lesbians Cavorting with a Tortoishell Dildo for my honey fix from this years Lupers.

Wow… I was kind of unimpressed by this one fresh out of the mail but it is really settling into something spectacular. Cavorting, indeed! This is one joyful, tumbling scent: wild mosses and a gorgeous “wildflower” style honey made bright and airy by the red silk brocade. Underneath is dry, mulchy, teakwood. Totally agree with the woodland fantasy vibe mentioned above, especially the “running” part! Like running barefoot through the most enchanting, sun-dappled deciduous forest over mosses and twigs with no regard for how you might be getting scratched up or what might be getting caught in your hair. It’s a somewhat odd interpretation of the visual data of the artwork because of the outdoorsiness of the scent, but Lesbians Cavorting is true to the spirit of that carelessly tossed aside crumpled paper. Out of its fellow Lupers, Lesbians Cavorting has definite overlap with “The Fox Spirit’s Jest,” which is ironically a little more fussy and buttoned up. Even its earthiness seems more self-serious than the frothy mosses Lesbians Cavorting to me. I have been collecting red silk scents despite not even being so wild about the accord on its own; the lab’s silk notes just seem to add life to any of their playmates. This is different enough from my others that it might warrant a spot in my collection. I just need to decide how many bottles I am able to limit myself to from this out of this world update. I mean, how could I pass up this kind of carefree joy in a bottle? Honey lovers, moss lovers, silk lovers, and teak lovers, rejoice !

If you have made it to this thread, you probably understand what kind of blend we’re dealing with here. I was excited to try it because I love olive notes but it’s really not for me. I mostly get white musk with olive blossoms, vanilla, and a little cedar. It’s very feminine in a contemporary department store vein. Pleasant but feels jarring to have on my body.

Just one plume? I get three wafting together in braided harmony right off the bat. Cypress has the boldest character, but dry and airy sandalwood and denser, nut-bitter agarwood are just as present. The moss silk has a snappy, taut green quality. Those delicate tendrils of incense rise to inflate your green silk hot air balloon (why don’t we take this thing out more?) and carry you miles into the yellow amber sunset to the gentlest eventual moss landing. The yellow amber really is the star on my skin; warm, bright, and smoooooooth. The calla lily comes out after an hour or two and really adds to the smooth, gliding impression of this scent. It’s strange how much the floral and amber feel unified here, warm and yellow yet somehow refreshing. I’m thrilled because many BPAL ambers do not work on my skin, becoming either cloying or dry and scratchy. I’ll have to remember that YELLOW amber is my friend. When I first tested this, the wonderful sandalwood was in the foreground, and even reminded me of the billowing sandalwood of my beloved old favorite Visions of Autumn VII. I think this isn’t going to recreate that magic, but it has magic all its own. And always, there is a crackling hum of incense drifting in and out of perception, growing slowly more mossy and terrestrial as that big yellow sun begins to set. I was thinking I was gonna have to pick between a full bottle of this and Lu Zhishen Pulls the Weeping Willow Upside Down, both possessing a frizzly yet meditative cypress opening. But they are settling down so differently ! Lu Zhishen is bracing and active throughout, where Plume of Incense is happy to let you just enjoy the ride. If anything I’ll probably death match with A Cup of Tea in the Veranda from this year’s yules to see which calm but entrancing glowing amber-floral will claim a spot in my cart.

Hmm… this one is not for me. The pepper is nice in the opening, but the sandalwood is going in two directions at once: warm bittersweet incense and dry sandalwood soap. I think the silk is probably pulling it soapy and the charred part of the silk is joining up with the incense-y aspects of the sandalwood. The ambergris is there as well but is reading as vaguely sweet and powdery. The notes are just not presenting the faces I most appreciate about them.

This was one of the surprise wins of my dangerously delightful shunga decants. The opening of LSPtWWUD is so resplendent: meditative yet stimulating, a collection of herbal-woody notes that are more neat bundle than wild tangle. I don’t know what willow, ho wood or strawflower smell like, but the clary sage and cypress are definitely present. There is a mentholic yet spicy herbal character along with pleasantly springy wood. My twin says “spa” but LSPtWWUD is not the kind of spa fragrance that you are gonna apply and then forget about. Gradually, the golden musk emerges, and somehow its ambery warmth doesn’t seem at all at odds with that cool, austere opening. There is a consistent airy quality to the whole scent that somehow ties everything together and creates an effect that says SHUNGA ! As it has settled, the opening lasts longer and longer into the drydown. At first it kind of turned to generic men’s fragrance with musk and vetiver after the first half hour, which was very heartbreaking. Now the fascinating opening accords linger blessedly on for the first couple hours and I’m hoping they will stick around even longer as my decant continues to settle. Although patchouli is listed in this, I am not really getting it at all. I can believe it’s there, but it is much quieter here than in any other of my oddly patchouli-heavy Luper decants. And throughout the wear I get hints of something that reminds me of lime? But it is very elusive and can’t really put my finger on what I’m smelling. This scratches the same greenish meditative itch for me as Plume of Incense, despite the lack of incense in this blend. LSPtWWUD is definitely fresher, more active, and more masculine if you care about that kind of thing; whereas Plume of Incense really toes the line between engagement and indolence. In any other release, both would be obvious full bottle buys for me, but this year’s lupers are so good that I will probably end up with only one.

This one is pretty linear and smooth, blended to feel like a singular substance (spice girls two become one vibes). Strongly masculine to me, this is definitely not a hetero love story. It even veers slightly in the department store direction of gay classics like Chanel Antaeus and (even more so) YSL Kouros. Usually BPAL’s more resolutely masculine blends turn me off, but Mars and Venus is so much subtler than, say, iago or the black rider. Nonetheless we find ourselves firmly in (genuinely) sexy boy soap territory, as the bathhouse art should already have signaled. Mars and Venus is a balance between warm and cold, rugged and smooth. We have here a delightfully easy amber accord paired with cool oakmoss, which gives a soapy impression when combined with what I believe is an ambrette-ish musk hidden in here. I sense a smidge of patchouli in the amber and maybe a whisper of subtly smoky vetiver in the green malachite side of things. Despite the warm amber, the moments of rugged patchouli and vetiver, the overall impression is smooth and cool, even slightly mineral. But the warm impression does give life to the scent, as if we are indeed presented with a fleeting moment preserved for eternity. Within the BPAL GC universe I am most reminded of Yorick, only here we have immortality instead of decay, integrity instead of dissolution. Still, both give the same sense of easy but slightly starched masculinity fit for the right queer. I have really been enjoying the couple of gaysploitation scents hiding in the seasonal collections this year and within that lens this is a lovely counterpoint to the equally ambery but more tortured and invert-coded A Cup of Tea in the Verandah. There is no yearning here, only confident fulfillment.

I read online that at the first tea ceremony of the year, “everyone attending dresses up and uses the most distinguished kimonos. However, the kimono patterns are kept faint so as not to steal attention away from the tea. On this day everyone attending dresses up and uses the most distinguished kimonos. However, the kimono patterns are kept faint so as not to steal attention away from the tea.” Now, look at those vivid garments in the art! The sex isn’t the only breach of etiquette here. Indeed, “The First Tea Cermony of the Year” is its own distraction from respectability. I was expecting a sensible pale, starchy, or perhaps grassy green scent. What I get is the equivalent of those garish garments: a deep, prismatic, strawberry accord. This is not a pink teenybopper strawberry candy, despite its dessert inspiration, but a deep, complex redness that I think is meant to convey the saturated silks that dominate the image. Other reviewers are identifying other possible red/fruity notes and I agree that it’s not a straightforward strawberry, but a kind of swirling and sparkling strawberry mirage. Still, dear reader, strawberry is my main impression. If I had to guess what else is here I might include plum—there is a glinting tartness that I very much associate with that fruit. The matcha is present and beautiful—nutty, fresh, and delicate, not harshly green and astringent—but it is very much not the center of attention. I don’t get the rice or bean notes, although the version of matcha here could easily be absorbing any pale, starchy impressions. I would never have ordered even a decant if the description said “strawberry,” but I am surprised how much I’m enjoying this. I will definitely be using up my decant and might even be upgrading to a bottle depending on how much I reach for it and how it settles. Starch-craving tea lovers, fear not! Couple Engaged in Intimate Acts as the Man Pours Tea could be for you, as long as you enjoy black tea and jasmine. Edit: As this has aged, it does smell starchier. It’s difficult for me to tease apart the starchiness and matcha but they are both there. For me they combine into a kind of cool, greenish white starchy sweet powder accord alongside the still aggressive dark red fruitiness. I’m still enjoying this one a lot and I’m definitely considering a full bottle. I think it’s a fun silly scent to wear to parties without totally lacking gravitas.

The opening is a flash of cherry, red red red! But soon a glint of plum joins the mix, and before long this is really a plum-dominated blend. Plum always seems to “glint” atop blends for me, and here it is joined by a very subtle (have no fear) chili pepper and the dry, splintery aspect of the sandalwood. As it settled, I had some issues with each of these notes, but now they give a pleasant, unified impression. This bright accord sits atop a creamy sandalwood-orris-tobacco base with floral champaca-orris trim. I like the bright heart of the scent and the fuzzy floral edges of the base, but the main creamy aspect of the base notes doesn’t really appeal to me. In the end Goose Moon is lovely, but somehow not very me despite the many notes I love. I think it’s just too smooth under that sharp glinting trio of plum/chili/sandalwood. I am more drawn to the rougher, slightly masculine tobacco absolute and cherry chypre duet from this release.

As advertised and yet unexpected. The cherry chypre dominates the opening, sweet, red, and juicy. Some might get cough medicine from this, but for me it is relatively bright and juicy for a cherry accord, with the chypre adding some shadowy depth. Gradually, the chypre elements gain hold and the scent acquires that “pinched” quality that certain vintage chypres possess (think miss Dior). The tobacco starts to come in. I was thinking this might be a big round pipe tobacco, which often has those cherry nuances. But actually, the composition is quite angular with the components remaining wonderfully distinct, and the tobacco is reminiscent more of snuff than pipe tobacco: dusty, almost “scratchy,” and bright. Although a lot of the words I’m using her might be used by others negatively, I’m relieved that this blend contains so much textural interest where it could just be flat and sweet. There’s something about this that reminds me of my first forays into BPAL (I’m reminded especially of GC Nosferatu), although it reads as recent BPAL in a good way, imo. This is a cozy, easy, perhaps somewhat masculine cherry blend that eschews sweetness to a surprising degree after that first blast of cherry. It’s not the kind of thing I usually go for, but I am quite enjoying my decant and may upgrade to a bottle. I’m excited to see how this wears in the late summer/early fall! Agree with sunshinedaisybliss that this is a pretty intimate scent, but given the way it conjures a suedelike, mossy and tobacco dusted “surface,” it feels appropriate that it should cling close to the skin. ETA— Layered with Goose Moon, the effect is quite tart. I noticed side by side that the cherry chypre reads juicier than the comparatively flat cherry top note of goose moon. I wonder if it has a touch of bergamot in the chypre structure producing that effect. In any case, the brighter cherry melds with the shining plum of Goose Moon to produce a much stronger juicy fruit impression than either do alone. The chypre texture is there as well, and the eventually it dries down to a dry woody tobacco—more velvety than scratchy.

Right out the gate I do get dragon’s blood, but then it turns into a very heady floral scent reminiscent of jasmine, lilac, and hedione. There is a kind of buttery resinous backing. No leather or smoke. This was a frimp and I never would have ordered based on the listed notes, but I am enjoying the experience. Others are saying dragon’s blood reads floral on them but not here; I’ve never had a floral experience with dragon’s blood EXCEPT with this blend. I’m wondering if it’s mislabeled or I’m just having a rly weird skin and nose chemistry experience of it—I’ll have to have some others smell it and see.

The decanter of the forum's Yule decant circle generously included a sample of this with my yule order, along with another of Mischief. In the depth of winter, they were very similar in scent, both strongly reminiscent of spun sugar. Dorian then had a paler quality, but only the vanilla was identifiable to me. As the weather is warming up, Dorian is really coming into bloom and I understand why it's a favorite (I have never tried the perfume oil version). Now I get mostly sweet musk with slightly herbal quality from the tea and fougere. There is a coldness to the fougere accord and a shadowiness to the tea, so while that pale sugary vanilla thing is till in the mix, it now has a lot more dimension. It's not really my thing still, but if you like frosty sugary musks with a little bit of interest, you will definitely like this.