RoseThornAndOak

There's a happy, then sad, then happy ending personal story with this review.

When this first came out, this used to be straight up sweet playdoh floral on me so I gave my bottle away to a friend. She adored it and year later had made it down to the last few drops, so I hunted down a second bottle to surprise her and one popped up randomly, woo!

When it came time to ship the bottle, radio silence. It turned out she had passed away and no one had told me. :,( 

I couldn't part with the 2nd bottle as it always reminds me of her. Well today, for some odd reason, this is an absolutely gorgeous beautiful powdery floral musk! I can actually make out the jasmine, and maybe tobacco flower and definitely iris, but it's not turning to play-doh! The white musk is clean, but not overtly soapy. Not picking up much orange or frankincense, maybe they are supporting the overal musky floral and providing balance, if anything.

I'm thinking maybe the trick with this blend is apply on the crux of the elbow, light application. There is something unsettling about it, totally Lucy, totally vampire. I'd like to think I can smell something of what my friend could smell now  and it makes me joyful that I can wear this in memory of her, and not just see it fade away unused on the shelf. 

 Miss you, girl. When I get to Valhalla, I will follow the trail of Lucy until I find you, and we will make fun of the bois together once more!

Ooo pretty! I reached for my William Blake poetry books last night and saw this bottle sitting right in front of them coincidentally, so naturally I had to dab a bit on, over a solid gardenia single note perfume I had already applied, and it was a pleasant reading experience overall!

Tried it again today sans gardenia: big blast of lilac, powdery, heady, old skool, almost honeylike and soporific, very Lilas de la Fenetra in the beginning. If you love Lab lilac you will love this. It is a like-but-not-love-depends-on-the-context note for me, so this actually isn't my favorite stage of this beauty.

Later the lilac subdues leaving a beautiful soft, lilac-kissed vanilla musky ever so powdery elegant thing. The other notes don't show up much and although I also was expecting something darker, I'm very glad none of the other notes sullied or bullied this out of Keeperville.

There's a faint hint of fabrics if I hunt for it, but not in a laundry way, it is legit like smol bits of leather, lace, satin, etc. 

So I reckon this fits the mood. It's more the lady than the painting itself, and is perfect for reading poetry and quiet contemplation. 

Very nice! 

Your reviews convinced me, so thank you! At first I get a nice coffee note with some spices and lo and behold, its a coffee note that works on me, woo! Seems to be more chocolatey, maybe a mocha note? That soon fades for the most part and a Morocco/Eve vibe comes out, but slightly darker and sweeter.

 I don't catch any heck from any problems notes at all! It don't smell like fake coffee, Christmas plug-in, cigarrette, no skin burning or foody vibe from the cardamom, and no plastic vanilla!

Fans of Eve and Morocco and those who tried those but they don't always work on your skin (this is me, sometimes that weird "plastic vanilla baby musk" note @Aveya mentions comes out with those and I become an eternal fence sitter who can't seem to declutter them, but can't seem to wear them often, either): if you take a leap of faith there's about a 75-80% chance you'll land pretty good with this one.

I like this much better. Finally a Morocco I can wear! 

Welp, my skin isn't doing graceful things with this. In the bottle it is heavier on the buttercream and sugar notes, yes like Boo a bit! On my skin it duds out to a something vaguely vanilla powder, orris adjacent with a touch of floral, but just weirdly.

I'll let it age. Should've known the sugar and buttercream would wonk it out on me. But definitely hop on this train if you do well with these notes, I bet on the right skin this is an excellent lab winner.

This is all about that lavender for a spell with a blue musk softening the edges. It's like if Yvaine had a brother, but more gender neutral I guess. It doesn't last long on me, but is reasonably pretty. I agree there is a bit of spice somewhere in there. Pink pepper, is that you? 

There is a bit of Midnight on The Midway here, lavender replacing the incense and no laundry or ozone notes.

Much BPAL, such pretty. I like it.

OK I'm digging this. At first it is quite jammy from the blackcurrant and cognac with a whiff of fir and soft aquatic notes in the breeze. Very nice, very nice. It does make me think of glass, like a super soft version of Shattered and seeing fir trees outside softened with frost. Very evocative. A very non-aggressive non-indolic oudh note emerges for a spell (thankfully the type that doesn't go sharp on me, the good stuff, woo!).

It dries down kinda lacey with soft grey amber and cognac, with a touch of fir in the breeze, like walking through an elven forest with a warm soft presence. Elegant and pretty, this is closer to what I wanted from November Mood and Elf. Galadriel would totes wear this.

Glad I went for it!

I'm gonna have to let this one rest. The bell pepper dead leaves thing is a bit too much for me and lingers for the better part of a couple hours. It's doing something way later, like it is turning into a high end perfume version of the dead leaves, closer to something you would find in the mall, so there is promise I suppose.

We'll see where this goes. 

This is really nice, like a softer No Man is an Island on me! There is something in the drydown that is vaguely reminiscent of Morocco, not sure where that comes from. It mostly reads chocoately + some dry herbs, like there is some soft moss, dry woods, etc in there. Also perfum-ier is a great descriptor.

I don't really get much maple vibes from the ambrette, no toothpaste from the mint, no pencil shavings from the cedar, no wet cigarette wrapper from the tobacco or the smoke, no angsty peanuts from the vetiver, no spilled beer from the barley, no rice cooker from the rice milk, no Whole Foods bar soap from the lavender and sage, and no hippie patchouli stomping it's boots on everything. It's so well blended and feels like a good luck charm. It feels like a 13 and kinda makes up for Witches' Lace being a mega fail on me.

The only other perfume it vaguely reminds me of is Alkemia's Fleur Historiques de Cacao, but I like 13 more. Probably say this more often than I should but it does have an Old World vibe. 

Thanks for another win Lab!

1 year+ aged: wow this has really beautied up even more. It's woodsy, herbal, soft, and charming. The patchouli is behaving and just slightly spicy and earthy in a dry but subdued way.

Got this for the Ghost and Mrs. Muir vibes. This is nice! It's mostly about the sea salt and soft, dried rose petals. I'm not getting much astringent tea or teak, maybe in the background. It's softer than most ozone blast aquatic blends. Soft, clean, feminine, and fresh.

I think I like it better than Bluebeard's Wife, if that helps.

One of my favorites of the rosey aquatic blends by the Lab, plus the bottle is pretty. There is a Nemo's Dreamscape ASMR video featuring the same art.

Basically the above. Jammy/lingonberry pine type slushy snow note with a bit of smooth non-chemically black leather. There are amber notes that are vaguely fruity and this is similar. Although it's fruity, its not sour and reasonably unisex. Pretty much stays that way throughout. Plus the bottle is pretty metal.

I'm wearing a vanilla blend on the other elbow crux and the wafts works

well together. It's great on it's own but I could see this layering well with more leather, sweet snow, vanillas, ambers, ciders, spices, resins, pretty versatile.

I like it a lot.

This is pretty. I'd suspect fans of the softer evergreen snow blends will want to get their hands on this. It will be slightly softer on the evergreen than even those, but only just, with a smol dab of musk being just barely enough to bring it out of atmospheric territory and into perfume land.

The pink pepper is nice, almost a bright cardamom kick going on, with a light waft of drifting smoke that is present throughout but not dominating (I know, wat? How did she get little match smoulder vibes without going monster woodsmoke?). These two provide lift, like little wafts of pink peppery smoke near the edge of a magical Northern forest blanketed in snow.

There's good sillage. No vanilla sweetness, more crisp, like how winter air can be dry and staticky.

I like it. There's a short phase where it wonks out but not much really. I would've enjoyed more starry musk and sweet snow, but I like where this goes regardless.

Birb Mob makes for a great blend if only for the "wtf" factor. Your boyfriend sees it and wtf's, your distant family's going through your estate and wtf's, or a robber on security cam finds it and wtf's with it long enough for the cops to arrive, hehe.

This turned out pretty good! Snow White, coconut, vanilla, linen, fresh and clean with sweet snow.  The honey isn't detectable to me, there's a super faint fruit note that dissapates quickly, maybe the ginger but I dig it. 

Very nice.

Apparently I never reviewed this, and apparently, this is woefully underrated. Leather and lavender from The Mountebank and John Locke join hands yet again with a spicy woods/ivy/light oudh/ti/musk that brings to mind Theodosius or Jareth sitting with you on the porch chair while the house silently dies around you but this is fine because your love is forever, lol. I could also see a dude in a well worn black leather coat rolling up to the club smelling like this after some urban exploring around a decaying mansion.

Fans of Rogue, The Mountebank, John Locke, and the creepy house vibes from Crimson Peak and some of the Poe offerings need to saddle up to this one already. The oudh behaves and is not indolic.

Hella sexy, hella bitchin', and hella transporting.

Almost buttery marshmallow plus fizzy. More champagne than anything, not quite a single note but edging there.

Shrubby, icey florals. Less Pink Snowballs, more Snow Covered Landscape and Winter Night Figure on The Bridge, how those create a winter scene/atmosphere where it's more about the other notes with snow supporting. 

The snow-covered, frozen, ambergris grey feather vibe is effervescent at first, not piney, not sweet. The cypress behaves, adding greenery to the scene but not dominating, although it does brighten and sharpen the blend. There is something mentholic that gives it a Move, On Please vibe (before that went Wonksville).

This brings to mind cold, dark ivy and heirloom shrubs with flowers covered with frost. The rosey florals are unique. I'm not the biggest fan of the sharp mentholic stage, but this has potential to settle into a great frosty floral blend so I'll hold on to it.

3 hrs later and it's sweetened up a bit in a soft snowy floral w/ a bit of menthol. Very nice!

Snow White and The White Rider cuddle in the snow. It's mostly SW on opening, then WR peaks through, softened by the sweet snow notes. Reminds me of Frostbitten Lust, although I think I like this more with the Rider's leather and woods. There are no pine notes, but for a spell the sandalwood gives the impression of cold sweet snow laying on bare, boney, creaky branches. Hella romantic, can we stay here for a bit longer? 

Still have to test a few more, but so far this made my Top 5 of 2022 alongside Ice Age Baton, Tovenares, and Vanilla Bean, and Marshmallow, and Benzoin, with a couple others vying for the 5th spot. 

High end clove. Clove, but glamourous. 

I'm starting to discover I like the idea of cloves more than how they actually smell on my skin. That said if you love clove, and clove loves you, holy shit, this might be your goth night holy grail.

Must agree with the above. This is a glittery, white, light, creamy, slightly powdery, soft, light sandalwood. There is something almost vanilla extract or pale tobacco about it. Very nice!

Might shock some of you, but this is #Murmaider [x16]  aquatic. I don't get much nuance in the beginning, just those marine notes, unisex, pleasant, nice, wearable to work. I do get those minerally notes. Nothing like Black Opal or anything, just kind of stoney.  The bottle art is lovely, very relaxing to look at in person and takes my mind away to cold northern places, so I do enjoy that about it. Atmospheric but wearable. 

Thalassa is still my aquatic queen, but this is still beautiful if you like gender neutral aquatics.

I'm trying to like this more than I do. It does this breathy, cloying vanilla orris floral thing on me and it's saddens me. Ahh well. 

I get those green notes too + some spice cake. The green is grassy, maybe ivy. It's an interesting mix, unexpected and unique. Not sure it gels on me well, but I'll hold on to it for a while. 

I really like this! Its mostly about the sea salt and bubbles: clean, simple, wear anywhere type of aquatic.

There are definitely florals, but you know, if someone held this up to me I'd be completely stumped as to which, the rose is so well blended with the bubbly bathwater. I may not have guessed rose, most definitely not red. I do think white floral aquatic as mentioned above is more accurate. 

Not brackish, you won't smell of clam. You have The No Clam Stamp of Approval. I'll definitely be keeping this not-a-clam.

Original bottle, aged since approx 2007-08.

Wow I never reviewed?? Wore today to compare to Girl at The Beach and Bluebeard's Wife. Thalassa has been one of my all time favorites from the Lab. It is almost, almost just another aquatic frag in a sea of thousands, but the florals and resins soften and anchor it just enough to provide depth without being too incensey or overtly floral. I'm surprised almond is a note. I mean, maybe there's a dash of Doc Bronners almond in her hair somewhere? I don't really get that note much, if at all.

I will have to pull my newer version from the backup tin to compare at some point, but I do remember being somewhat partial to the original. Just seemed stronger with more depth.

Anyway, it's lovely and I love it on a soul level still! 

A note though: do try her more than once, and be sure to shake the bottle as mine tends to visibly separate more than most BPALs. I almost wrote her off at one point, eep. 🧜🏼‍♀️ This experience with Thalassa saved Girl at The Beach for me.

First skin test - heavy ozone type note and not much else. Crisp, sharp, high pitched.

Second skin test - let rest a couple days. Shook a bit and tested on inner elbow. Ozone much better now. More nuanced aquatic, softer, clean scent. Vaguely fruity/minerally. I'm not getting much rose. It reminds me of Abalone Vulva a little bit. 

The final drydown reminds me of some of the sexy, gender neutral to masculine blends the Lab does. Very nice!

Absolutely gorgeous Snow White, not sure how it varies from the orginal, but I found it to be strong and long lasting.