Cali
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Everything posted by Cali
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Soo excited about this one!! The bottle art is really cute and a gorgeous colour, it almost doesn't look like something i's expect from bpal. Almost overwhelmingly salty in the bottle, aquatic, sea salt and fruity florals in the bottle. It's quite gorgeous, but the salt is scaring me a bit. Applied the saltyness calms down - even though it stays there, farrr off in the background, complimenting the rest of the "bouquet" that's going on here. Definately getting a very soft honey and rose, strong pear? (Guessing that may be the grass note) and skin musk. So far it's a softer, bleuer version of Liadain & Curithir on me. My skin seems to be eating this far too fast though, where it quickly goes into 'your-skin-but-better' territory (and i'm one for slightly ....stronger stuff, heh). so i may reconsider keeping this around (which is a damn shame, cause this is very pretty)! I'm sick atm so i may not be picking it up as i should. Will retest in a little bit, if my opinion changes i'll update this.
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How have I not left a review here yet! I've had this sitting around since I got the christmas order in, and i absolutely love this wet: soapy incense, applied it directly morphs to something deeper, and more realistic. It really evokes the art it's based on; a creepy, dark monastery looming in the distance with inexplicable strong waft of incense and myrrh coming from it's direction, luring you nearer to it. You, perhaps a weary traveler alone on a snowy night, looking for a place to stay. I can smell mosses and trees, and the cold snow. Dried, it's more like you're already inside the monastery, or at least just stepped in the door, as I get a slightly more stone-scent(?) later, and wafts every so often of the "forest" aspect of it. (The scent is not creepy neccesarily, that's what my brain, paired with the art makes of this, it is a very wearable, beautiful thing. Nor is it super heavy on anything, everything is mixed gorgeously and even the frankinsence, while being the strongest, doesn't go crazy like it did on my skin with many other scents). Beautiful!!
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SUPER strong just... toastedness from the imp. Thank goodness it calms down as soon as i put it on. I also get molasses, super dark chocolate (too bitter to eat), toasted cardamom, a far away patchouli and I guess vanilla and benzoin (lol). I swear I've smelled something similar to this in the past (not a perfume) somewhere and if it ever hits me i'll update it here. It goes more sexy near drydown, but i wish my skin amped the vanilla here, because good lord it would've been good if it did that!! I see the vision, just can't reach it.
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Woahwoah! The snake oil is there in the imp, but as i put this on, a strong, zingy sharp acai berry slaps me in the face - which is engulfed in a tiiny bit of cardemom and drenched in sandalwood. The smoke comes out by drydown, giving it a vetiver-esque edge. Herbal, earthy 'strange yellow gloppy tincture in a desert vibes'. It's almost a more feminine version of Seth - though this is more dried out and a liiitle more 'clean' than 'skin'.
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This reads very much as ye 'ol mme moriarty to me. Super sexy red musk, thick vanilla. On my skin it morphs quite fast into something almost cloyingly sweet - the mallow does what it does on my skin and takes over a great percentage of this, and pushes the rest aside. Here, i'm not sure if I find it works for me.
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Inebriated Birbs Guzzling Punch While a Scandalized Cat Looks On
Cali replied to Silvertree's topic in Limited Editions
Yeah, everything's there - strongest is the sweet brandy. On my skin the lemon juice amps and warms up (nooo..), and the sugar adds a fun fleckyness to this. Simple, fun, festive. -
Oooh! This is new! First things that really stick out are the wine and pumpkin. Thick and dark. Applied, it morphs directly and the champagne grapes, benzoin, sugar cane and tonka come out strong. The sugar is gritty and brown, the "colour" has turned to a more purply pink from the swirly maroon and orange it was. The grapes stand out here, it's squishy realistic deliciousness. The wine is vaguely there, in the background, my skin mostly ate the pumpkin. Interesting!
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In the bottle there's a note unknown to me that's a little unpleasant to me, though there's plenty of lesser strong notes in here i can already pick out that are very beautiful - natural greens, flora, amber, cotton... On application to my surprise it stays pretty much the same, lol! I'm guessing the unpleasant smell is some sort of mix of cotton, white florals, and maybe a strange mix of that lemon/everygreen far in the background of that weird mix. It's not by any means bad by the by, it's just... It doesn't work for me. It's soapy, but in an ancient old-dust kinda way. All the other pretty, fresh and more "natural" smelling notes dissapear after abt 10 minutes. Damn you skin chemistry!!
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Have been hoping to try this for a long time, and i finally got my hands on this - and it absolutely does not dissapoint. In the bottle it's a bit "scary", almost like there's a bottom layer of tiramisu drenched in rum-note in there (i am not a cake/dessert lover), but once applied I need not worry no more. It's absolutely the notes listed, but where the dead leaves note usually amps on me like a m***er, it stays juuust calm enough, and is nice and spicy - while the scorched pumpkin is also soft, but adds a lovely toastiness. Pumpkin usually dissapears on me, and it almost does here; but just enough stays around to add a layer of complexity I can't put into words.... It works wonders with that marshmallow in there though. It's the same gorgeous marshmallow note as always, soft, fluffy 'n dreamy. Before I got this in, I made label art to stick onto the cap, and added a little elf fellow on there, no reason other than I didn't know what else to use as a visual. It's by chance absolutely perfect, as there's a specific fairytale-esque quality to this. Everytime i sniff it i am reminded of a specific part of a specific themepark, and it's absolutely lovely. AHHh so happy this worked out so well as I'd hoped.
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Dear god, I knew this was going to be good, but not that it was going to be a keeper. Squishy, warm fig, soft spices, almond (that indeed reads more cherry), enhanced by golden glow and the essence of autumn. This would be lovely all year 'round, even though something in this just reads autumn, but i can't put my finger on it why, the leaves are not super noticeable (and I guess go more spicy on my in this), but there's just a general autumn "aesthetic" to this. It's got this sliiiight 'home candle' scent thing going on, but it's not to the point where it's distracting, nor is it neccesarily that, in a bad way. I can't stop sniffing my wrists with this on. Beautiful and absolutely approved.
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Snake oil combo with STRONG LEATHER and champaca, and perhaps something a little more dirty or gritty. Genuinely batty!
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Tea Leaves, Vanilla Bean, and Incense Smoke
Cali replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
A very soft scent on application - i'm mostly getting a sweet tea/incense mix which is quite gorgeous. The vanilla bean quickly starts to mix in and it's a slightly more gourmand vanilla in here. It takes the foreground and that's where it stays. Really pretty, wish my skin would have stayed at that application stage.. -
Mallow Flower, Honeysuckle, and Vanilla Bean
Cali replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Sugary mallow flower, thick vanilla and mild honeysuckle. Floofy, goopy/thick, pinkish yellow... It's a little too much for me but it's really pretty. -
Hmmm. Strong lavender and chamomile, the sharp but sweet vine of thyme and very soft moss. The lemon balm is super quiet and adds a wonderful atmospheric ozoney feel to this, and the fig a warm, bubbly sweetness. The lavender and moss end up the strongest in the end, very, very beautiful.
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A lost tiki scent? Strong orange cocktail with vodka, fizzy water, a stem of ginger (perhaps some cardamom and cinnamon?) and a tropical floral topper. I understand the soap note people are mentioning, it's out on drydown for me, but it just adds a very clenly bar to the picture in my head, lol. It's a lemony soap scent. The 'cocktail' and clean bar now both equally strong.
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Honestly, all the notes are there, and it's one sexy, sexy scent! Like standing outside of a sexy hellfire club with the door wide open. Realistic smoke around you, velvety dresses and drapes, a beautiful black leather, and sweet reds and pinks swirling enticingly into the night. The vetiver's a little too much on me unfortunately, but this is gorgeous!
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I was a little hestitant to even try this from the description alone (but intrigued still), and this is surprisingly pretty. LavenderCoffee honestly described it better than i ever could. 'Ol Abelard... A true haunted gentleman doll's scent. It brings the image to my mind of one of those old goosebumps books with a ventriloquist doll in an attic. But Abelard is definitively kinder about things.
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In the bottle it's apple and "meadow", on application it bursts into a wild colourful chaos of ...wildness; herbs, ozone, all matters of greens, fruits 'n florals. Agreeing with the grass-and strawberries in the wet stage, i'm getting an addition of dry bark/branches in there - not a bad thing at all (guessing that's the crushed heather/ancient oak)? The amber on me is quite prominent, giving this a strange orange-y gold musk-like quality. The lilac does go louder on me as well (it tends to amp on me) but it's not TOO crazy. The other fruits 'n florals are now in the background, dry. Beautiful!
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Oh no, it's that "raisin" note i'm not a fan of. I was so excited to try a coffee scent but i'm not getting any coffee at all from the get go. I'm mostly getting some type of syrup, close to the sugarfree caramel syrup i have in my kitchen - there's not much pumpkin about it, very vaguely, perhaps. Mostly getting milk, syrup sweetness and a little bit of cardamom.
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Hmmm. Pink snowy booze. "That" lab's snow/mint note with a soft boozey rum note (uh oh, there it goes on the drydown!) and happy pink pepper. To me it's a mix of a lick it scent + midwinter's eve. It doesn't morph much more other than that the rum is now faaarr into the background, and the pink pepper goes slightly currant-y. It's very happy, silly & i agree with mentioned above, that there's a certain nostalgic something to it!
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A haunted fun ride at night! Boozy, buttery pumpkin, i am also getting something popcorny, (hay?, wood?), and i am getting that incense note, but it's more of a dusty hay note to me than incense.
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This is a veeery soft cinnamon on me... with what I'm guessing is dragon's blood and something green/herbal very far in the background?
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Ooh! Crisp, peppery pink! Well, pink and yellow. Dry, It's an almost candyish fuity scent, swirls of citrus and soft, creamy grapefruit. Very very low throw, but very pretty.
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There's notes in here that, when wet, to me at least-clash; this resolves itself on application by directly morphing that to a more dusty coherency, while the other notes (I struggle to pick them apart here besides being able to pick out the lavender, mallow and vanilla bean, but these are also very well blended. And it IS similar to TKO to a certain degree - and I agree with the beforementioned 'marshmallow vanilla lavender', but it's grounded by something almost earthy, while not being overly sweet or overboard with anything, really.
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Soooo pretty. I agree with everything bygraveyardlight said. There's that fresh green note that I vaguely remember was in The ghastly garden. Squelchy, greenhousey goodness - several images come to mind. A cozy rainy day in a greenhouse, the nymphs bathing in pale water by a full moon, festive, lush greenery outside just as a party is getting started inside...