gentle-twig

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.

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.

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!

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 !

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.

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.

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.

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 !

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 !

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.

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.

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 !

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.