VetchVesper

Enjoying a sniffie from a past decant circle. I get a chilly white musk with a hint of ozone, which comes across as the lab's shiny metal or chrome note. It's fairly unisex, maybe leaning a bit masculine. It's nice, but not really me, and does teeter on the brink of being soapy. It never quite falls over the line though. More than metal though, it makes me think of a ghostly blue-white Marley.

Brazen and beautiful, unconventional and daring. The scent of soft white leather gloves and the sharp crack of a riding crop mingled with tobacco, clove, incense, and opium smoke seeped into sugar-spun vanilla lace, all stained with green cognac, sweet dried red fruits, and wild plum. Lot's of leather in the bottle, and it is indeed that SN Riding Crop leather. Brown but with just a touch of sharpness, with something animalic underneath. Oudh or musk maybe? When it touches my skin though, this becomes a poof of smoke. Very masculine and harsh. This is fresh from Darkdel, so I'm hoping it just needs some rest time and will calm down dramatically. Ok. Smoke and leather relaxing. Now I'm getting some of the soft, glove leather. Something sweet, but unidentifiable starts to peek out, but there's a lot of notes I'm missing. Hmmmmm... Oh dear. I just accidentally put some Miss Forcible on it, thinking I was reapplying Smoke & Lace. 😕 ..... Huh. .... I rather like the combo. Well who'd have thunk it. Reapplying Smoke & Lace on the other arm. ...I'm beginning to get the sense of a metallic clove and tobacco. It smells like cigarette tobacco to me, which goes with the picture, but its a little jarring. This still smells very male and sort of comforting. Like - I could actually see a leather wearing, heavy smoking cowboy smelling like this naturally. I think I might be barely getting a hint of plum in the background, but.... it's a dry plum, if that makes sense. No sweet, fruitiness here. This is like Bensiabel if he was told to shut the f@*k up, climb out of that fairy tale, and toughen up. Maybe a touch of Marquis De Carabas. I ... might... like this? I feel like it needs some revisiting after it's mellowed. I also feel like it could really grow on me. Time will tell. As a side note - There are lyrics from a Joni Mitchel song I've always loved - "He lives in another time/ Ladies in gingham still blush/ While he sings them of wars and wine/ But I in my leather and lace/ I can never become that kind." Smoke & Lace and Crinoline & Lace seem to encapsulate the line for me. Very different scents for very different ladies.

Hmmm... I haven't had this on very long, but my initial impressions are surprisingly kinda - meh. The oud is actually the strongest note on me. It's a nice oud, well-behaved and woody. It gives me sort of a genteel cedar vibe. The patch is present, but actually a little low key for my tastes. Sadly, I'm not getting a drop of honey. This reminds me a LOT of Entertaining the Heian Court Maiden. Similar notes, and a similar, unexpected chemistry fail. Ah well. Smooth, woody oud and patch.

Ooooooo... this one is right in my wheelhouse. Sultry, thick, resinous and woody red musk. The oil is dark and syrupy. The ginger and clove at a nice fiery bite in the opening, and the red musk has almost a fruity quality - like rich port. The Amber becomes more obvious as this dries down and calms a bit, and the woods and patchouli just add a dark luxurious backdrop. This is a lot, and very sexy. I am here for it. I might have to get a bottle even though I already have way too many of these kinds of fragrances. If you like the lab's "bloody" fragrances, ala Bloodlust, The Deluge of Blood, and Marianne, this is one to try.

So I absolutely love fragrances that smell like incense. Unfortunately, this one doesn't do that for me. Nor do I get any maple syrup vibes, as others have mentioned. Something in this reminds me of Oblivion, and I suspect there might be dark musk in this, and/or myrrh, because I'm a bit nose blind to those two fragrances. I can detect them more as a presence or feel in the perfume, a sort of emptiness, versus an actual smell. It's very weird, and I don't get it. 🤷‍♀️ Someone mentioned almond. I could see that maybe, but I'm also thinking that could be myrrh, lending sort of a golden sweetness. There might well be some amber. This is very subdued and raspy and texture. It smells sandy, vacant, dry - it almost has a parchment vibe. It's a skin scent on me. I poured half an imp on myself and still only smell it when my nose is directly on my skin. So, not enough punch to be something I need more of. I wish I was getting the maple and incense so many others are, because, far from sinister, that sounds heavenly.

@crimson_vampireOoo.. I'd love to know how you liked Mme. Moriarty. And yes, I was eyeing Sugar Plum Snake Oil pretty hard, but resisted because of the Bordello references. I like my plums darker. 😊

This smells like delicious berry yogurt, but the ylang ylang and lavender manage to keep it from being strait up food and give it some class. Very creamy though, with threads of honeyed sweetness coming through. I don't get obvious vanilla. I wish this was a body butter; I would slather it on shamelessly. It reminds me a little of The Small Harem with creamy blueberry added. Tasty.

Super strong cherry up front with mint. It smells kind of medicinal to me. The cherry fades quickly, (It usually does on me.) leaving me with a soft, minty almond smell. It's rather subdued and more herbal than gourmand. I don't really care for this, although I usually love mint chocolate combos. I don't think my chemistry is doing it justice. Off to swaps!

Without reading the notes I'm getting ginger, white musk, and maybe sake? It's got a bit of air/fresh watery feel. Huh. Looking at the notes, I guess I'm reading the Lansium domesticum as gingerish. And yay! Sake! This does smell very fresh, though it's not quite green. It's reminiscent of lighter cucumber scents, but has its own unique vibe too. I think the mint is becoming more obvious in dry down, but that might be just because I know it's a listed note now. This is really nice. Very understated, cool, and refreshing. I'd love to have more of this for summer, or maybe as a bath oil. Thanks to the lovely decanter who sent me a sniffie. ❤️

Ooo. Don't forget Houses at the Back - Frost Morning. It's VERY lilacy, but les green than the lilac woods. And Wisteria Blossoms is GORGEOUS. Not lilac centric, but it's in there, and very worth checking out if you like Figure on Bridge. Vigil's really pretty too, and something about the mix of beeswax makes me think lilac marshmallows. Lots of lilac lately from the lab, and I am NOT complaining.

Nothing has been added to this in a while, so I just wanted to update, just in case anyone's looking for this somewhat uncommon note. Wisteria Blossoms from the 2022 Shungas is gorgeous. Night Snow at Kambara is a 2016 Yule that was lovely and featured a creamy wisteria. The Witch Bride is a Weenie that has appeared multiple years and features a prominent wisteria note.

I bought this bottle second hand, and if not for Zii's review, I would have supposed it had spoiled. Funnily enough, it smelled nice to me when it first arrived in the mail, but months later, when I got around to giving it a good test, the smell from the bottle was positively rank. I've never refused to skin test one of BPAL's oils, but I came close this time. It just smelled like rot and fermentation and all sorts of very not good things. Less like poo, and more like something that had been stewing in a plastic container in the sun too long. This did NOT go away on my skin, as I'd expected it to, until I'd had it on for nearly an hour. Then it became a semi-pleasant floral with the taint lurking beneath, and then sort of a non-descript, inoffensive, hair-sprayish floral. Since my initial horror, I have retested with varying results and asked others what they think. Out of half a dozen or so friends, none have experienced the revolting aroma I have, nor do I always experience quite the degree of petrification as I did that one fateful day. I suspect the indoles in the white florals, mixing with the unusual caraway note and hitting my nostrils just right (or wrong), are what birth this monstrous aroma. But sometimes, sniffing the bottle produces pleasant results. And, as I write this, a dab of Vain Sorceress is wafting from the back of my hand and is quite alluring: sultry, plush, feminine - something I would wear happily. However, it did take about 5 mins of unpleasant, quazi-rot smell to get here. It brings to mind all those evil queens and stepmothers who trapped their unsuspecting fairy-tale mates before revealing their more unpleasant natures. 😈 Vain Sorceress is certainly a scent experience: a fickle mistress of extremes. I haven't quite decided if I want to put up with her or not for her better moods.

Lol. So... I actually like this one. BUT my mom, who loves florals, said it smelled like dirty panties. 😬 I think the indoles are to blame for the funk, which I do sometimes get a whiff of from the bottle, but on my skin, I never get that impression. It's a musky, sensual, white floral (mostly magnolia) with a husky depth from a well-behaved cedar and a hint of floral lemon. Interestingly, my friend got funk in the bottle but thought it smelled fine on her skin. However, when I smelled her wrist, I got more funk than I got from the bottle. Tricksy! I've had several male friends smell it and say it's fine. So... I got no idea. Wear at your own risk, I guess. I'll keep my decant as I think it smells nice on me. But it does smell a bit raunchy, sexy, animalic. I'm guessing this one is going to depend a lot on personal taste and probably isn't work appropriate. 😉

@scentedbythesun Have you tried Sugar Cookies and a Popcorn Garland? Discarded Popcorn Garland might also be worth checking out since you like the sweet snow and pine in The Snow Woman.

Crisp pear, almost reminiscent of apple, with a white, ozony musk. This smells like a dry cider at first, with a bit of effervescence to it. The pear becomes more pear-ish and the effervesce becomes more gauzy smelling. The frankincense joins the party, but remains discretely in the background, just adding some softness and grown-up depth. The fruit stays dry and chilly vs. juicy. This smells sophisticated and clean, but a bit standoffish - like a British heiress, with a hoity-toity accent, wearing white linen and sipping cocktails on her lawn. I've been watching way to much Midsomer Murders lately. 😁

Initial sniff -- eucalyptus and wet, juicy floral I associate with honeysuckle, mingling with a hint of cat pee jasmine. That sounds a lot worse than it is. Overall, it's an interesting mélange, but one I hope will settle differently on my skin. The cat pee vibes diminish quickly, leaving me with the more pleasant, lush floral feel. There's a teeny hint of the eucalyptus in the background adding something strange but compelling, and the blue cypress is adding to the background of dark vegetation. I think it's the fresh greeness of the sap mixing with the florals that makes me think honeysuckle. The lily is hiding behind the other flowers, and I don't get any sort of book or silk vibe. I don't love this, but I do like it. I think the jasmine just feels a little harsh on me, but I'll keep my bottle around a while and see if it grows on me.

@crimson_vampire It seems like you enjoy darker, juicy, red/purple fragrances, with a touch of floral, and you enjoy plum. Florientals and musks seem to be in your wheelhouse. That's all certainly my jive too. The Elephant is Slow to Mate is one that should have been a shoe-in for me, but for some reason, didn't work great. 😕 Keeping suggestions to what's currently available - Bathsheba, Blood Kiss, Bloodlust, Kitsune-Tsuke (if you're open to spring florals. It's got a bright, juicy plum note.) Bordello (has a sweet, candy plum. Not a big fan myself, but it's popular and similar to the "sugar plum" scents.), Obsidian Widow, the Raven, Evil, Drow Yoga Instructor Unimpable and LE - Asleep in the Deep, Dionysia, Arachnina the Spider Girl, Melisande the Puppet Mistress, Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller, The Witch Queen, The Bloodgarden, Marianne, Skull with Shell, Books, and Crumple of Blush-Pink and NIght-Blue Silk, Violet Fog, A Rovin (I LOVE this one, but it's a LOT, and you gotta like jasmine.) You might also see if you like wine notes. Oh, and if you're a fan of Satyr (also a love of mine. ) you might like civet. It's a musk note that gives a lot of people trouble, but it's supposedly in Satyr, and I tend to like it in other things too.

My first impression is lacey tobacco and backed faintly by the tea roses and more strongly by the black tea. It's not strongly floral though. More like a Victorian parlor with a bouquet of roses in the room somewhere. The peony begins to creep in, but again, less floral, and more just an impression of freshness. The white musk makes everything a bit hazy and the chocolate is there, but very subtle. It's pretty, but not at all what I would call foody on me. The typical lace notes are by far the most prevalent thing on my skin, and the floral and chocolate kinda get lost in the shuffle. This is nice, but I think other lace blends have worked better on my chemistry.

Musky, sweet, and lemony in a lovely way. Something about the tang of lemon with the creaminess smells almost like buttermilk. Didn't realize it till a friend, who didn't care for this, pointed it out, but now I'm like - oooh yeeeah! To me, it's reminiscent of lemon, buttermilk pancakes, without actually being foodie, and I am ALL about that. This was a surprise hit for me; I haven't smelled anything else quite like it, and I'm considering a bottle. My one lament is the lemon fades pretty quickly, leaving me with a pleasant, but less unique and lemo-luscious skin scent.

I really like this. Lots of powdery orris going on, but I'm down for that. This mingles with a vanilla peppermint smell that reminds me an awful lot of the CD scent, Alisz. I have no idea where the mint's coming from, but I get the nose chill effect. Someone mentioned playdough - yeah, that weird floury, salty smell - but I dig it here. I understand the mentions of violet too, though I'm wondering if my brain is just filling in the violet since it's so often paired with orris. This smells odd and dusty and luminous (like lunacies often do) and it's a lovely sleep blend for me. It's like dust motes dancing in moonbeams.

To my nose, this is extremely similar to Kitsune-Tsuki. (Asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk) Ironically, Chasing Fireflies goes a bit more floral on me than the juicier Kitsune does, even though Kitsune boasts more floral notes. Chasing Fireflies is also softer, smoother, and doesn't last as long on me. It's a pretty spring floral with a touch of plum fruit, but not really different enough to be something I'd buy.

This comes across as a dark chyrpe on my skin, heavy on the oakmoss and deepened by leather and something else - perhaps the incense. It's very powdery, and, for something with so many floral listed, it's surprisingly masculine. I wish I got a bit more of the floral floating on top of the chypre base. As is, it's not bad, but lacks complexity. I'm guessing other chemistries might highlight the lighter notes better though, because I do catch a bit of the floral when I sniff my imp.

Very pretty! Wisteria can go a bit screechy on me, but here, it's both present, prominent, and well behaved. Something also smells lemony on my skin at first. I thought maybe magnolia, but I'm not sure what it could be. I see lilac mentioned in the notes, and I can detect it, but I wouldn't call this lilac centric. I assumed "indigo" would be indigo musk, and I think it is in here, probably more so than the red musk. I don't really get much from this besides the florals and musks, but there's enough complexity that I'm sure the other notes and are adding to the whole. Overall, this is very floral and purple smelling: creamy, semi-sweet, very feminine and luxurious, without smelling old-ladyish, prim, or perfumey. It becomes a pale, translucent purple smell as it dries down. ETA: This really is gorgeous. Strongly considering a bottle, even though strait up florals aren't usually my jam. Also, wanted to address @Poenari's review.

I kinda love this, though it's not something I would have initially picked up. Sniffing the bottle immediately triggered a childhood memory: scratch n'sniff stickers. As an 80's kid, I had a fantastic collection, and this smells like either the lemonade one, or the orange juice one. I can't remember which, but it's yummy. I'm really liking this year's lemon note. Here, it sets Sunrise Kimono apart from more typical grapefruity blends and is the dominant fruit to my nose. Cedar, which normally doesn't play well with my chemistry but is deciding to behave, and amber add the scratchiness to the sniffiness by adding a fuzzy, warm base. The fragrance becomes more sharp, tart, and herbal as it dries down on me - mouth puckering and delightful - like some sort of fizzy, adult lemonade. Don't let my sticker analogy fool you; this smells expensive.

Reminds me of a gentler Entertaining the Heian Court Maiden; I actually like this better. Musky, woody spice from the oud and subtle honey. It's not super sweet and feels unisex to me. It's a bit too light for my tastes, but I strongly suspect this blend will blossom with age, as oud tends to do. That would make it pretty nigh irresistible. I'll be dithering on whether to buy a bottle while my decant settles in.