Convallaria

Surprisingly sweet based on what you'd expect from the notes. The reviews were a forewarning, but I still expected the spices to be at least somewhat sharp. The drydown is sweet vanilla. No moss, no fire and not the kind of diabolical I was picturing. Overall low throw. I guess I should search for the old one.

The opening is sugar and ginger. The milk appears soon after. Low throw and wear length on me.

The opening is very green, I think I get Lab's grass note. Violet flower and iris kick in shortly after. Musk spiced with sandalwood in the drydown. Decent wear length, low throw but nice intensity. Nice mixture of green and sweet spices, needs some testing but potential full bottle buy. (I'm taking notes on imps and bottles I own in alphabetical order as I test them and this one came right under Poe (event exclusive, got imp with purchase). Coincidence or...?)

I get clean (white?) rose and something candle-like - resin or neutral incense? I like it - incense prevents even the "clean" rose from going too body product on me. In most other incense/resin+rose blends I tried rose gets swallowed, but not here. Hope it comes for Carnaval this year.

The opening is sweet anise. It becomes soft, borderline vanilla-like after a while. I think there is some civet in the drydown, but the scent itself is very weak. Overall, on me at least, it comes off like they decided to run with the foodie component, not the concept character.

Dragon's blood if more flower than resin in this one, as opposed to Ifrit. And a pinch of pepper. First few seconds can be spicy, depending on the weather, but it goes "bloody" soon enough. Drydown is dragon's blood, red musk and sweet sandalwood. Decent wear length.

Very, very herbal. Opening is a mix of lavender and chamomile. It reminds me of linen spray. Drydown is something "clean" and barely-there on me. Wear length is very short.

I'm afraid I don't get any darkness. This smells citrusy on me, I think it's bergamot+some incense at the opening. Then, something floral joins in and sticks around for a while. The drydown feels sweet with some salt drizzled on top - for "blood", I guess. Overall, confusing. I'm really not getting the intended imagery - it's more tropical, less mystical on me - and I'm not fond of the kind of sweet component it includes.

Desert sand, red musk, blackened ginger, dragon's blood resin, black pepper, cinnamon, and tobacco. The opening reminds me of candles (resin?), and it stays that way for a long time, with some barely-there dragon's blood. Spices and a pinch of tobacco appear in the drydown, against the backdrop of red musk. Relatively good wear length, low throw.

It opens with a mix of red cherry, rosewood and lavender. The effect is nearly herbal. Later on, there's more cherry and musk, less rosewood. The drydown is red musk with hints of rose. Very low throw and wear length. It's a very interesting scent and I'd be interested in a full bottle if only it lasted longer.

It does seem like a swirl at the start, opening with jasmine and mint, then taken over by jasmine with some patchouli. Drydown feels like poppy and sweet musk. If there's any sandalwood it's too well blended to tell. I bought it because of "red pepper musk" but I didn't get anything that felt like that. Overall, it's jasmine scent first and foremost.

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla. A classical "oriental" - spicy vanilla, not of the yummy variety. Of spices, I think I recognise sandalwood and maybe some tonka bean as well. I tested fresh oil imp and 2009 vintage bottle simultaneously. Sandalwood is sharper in new one, making it almost woody at the opening. Aged has much more mellowed edges. I think I might actually prefer the new one, though the aged one is fine as well and probably better-suited to polite company. It's also one of blends that leave more visible stains, so beware.

If you like Shalimar, you might like fresh Snake Oil. If you like L'Heure Bleue, you might like the aged one.

I never tried the old version. Very well blended and morphs a lot. Of what I managed to pick out, the opening is oakmoss, tea leaf and blackberry for a few moments. Gardenia and jasmine sambac come through soon. I'm a bit iffy about oakmoss in general, but I think the tea takes some of the edge off and I'd be interested in trying more tea-moss combinations. It goes sweeter after an hour of so, with blackberry, orange and honey. Later, it slides into rather tame vanilla and jasmine. Despite intensity of the components, I found it surprisingly short-lasting. I think it will take time getting used to.

Got a decant. Very literal crushed grass. Not something I'd wear on its own, but it would be great for layering - I like when sweetness is balanced by greens. Still not sure I can justify a full bottle though.

Probably the greenest lily I've ever smelled. I thought about getting Egg Hunt Grass Stain to layer with it, but it would be redundant. Like others said, very realistic.

(2016 version, never sniffed the old one.) Like Faith, first few second were a blast of syrup - but the cause might be the heat, because I couldn't resist testing bottles straight off the delivery truck. But it didn't last a full minute and then it's all rose jam. I think the sweetness is amber in origin. Drydown goes pleasantly powdery, yet different from Faith - I think that "sweet" component of twins might not be identical. Or perhaps it's some remains of floral still influencing it. But most of the show belongs to decently balanced blend of flower and preserve syrup that sticks around for a long time. The throw is rather strong for BPAL, too. (And yes, I think it's stronger than Faith - I had them on opposing wrists.) Rose has a few soapy moments if you sniff too close, but overall effect from afar is rose preserves and nothing more or less. Despite being pretty much what it says on the tin - flower+syrup - both Faith and Hope felt complete to me on their own. That said, layering them gives a more than pleasant end result too. If you find Faith too cloying, the rose note in Hope is slightly "cleaner" than Faith's violet and it might help elevate it a bit. Mind you, it also makes for a very heavy, complex combination that might not be suited for every occasion. The blend is also very long-lasting.

(2016 version, never sniffed the old one.) It's very sweet. It felt cloying for first few seconds, but that might be because it was "fresh" out of delivery truck and it's nearly summer. Afterwards, the violet comes through. I think the sweetness is amber-y. The last stage of drydown loses the floral and goes pleasantly powder-y (in old school perfume sense, not "clean" powder sense). But the main, pretty much equal blend of flower and preserve syrup, remains steady for a long time - longer than I expected. I should probably hate it, but I love it. I think it's the violet. If it was just fruit or spice or flower that smells sweet to begin with, I would probably find it off-putting, but the violet makes for an interesting contrast. That said, it's still a bit uncanny valley to me - I guess because while I'm used to foodstuff that uses rose, I've never actually eaten candied violets so I don't have the association. But I think it might be a part of what makes it so interesting to me. Despite being what it says on the tin - flower+syrup - both Faith and Hope felt complete to me on their own. That said, layering them gives a more than pleasant end result too. If you find Faith too cloying, the rose note in Hope is slightly "cleaner" than Faith's violet and it might help elevate it a bit.

My second lab tobacco/opoponax/rose blend and the result is similar. (Even though the other was "tobacco tar".) It's pretty much "old ashtray" on me, and it stays that way longer than The Top. There's an occasional hint of rose but sniff again and it's gone. Opoponax can only be sensed in last stages of drydown. Clove seems to enhance tobacco more than anything. I'm not happy with it, but I'll wait to see if aging will mellow it.

No decanting will never be an issue with Lab orders. It is likely because the Faiza is out of stock, yes. We have been spoiled lately with lightning quick turn around times, but it's actually not that uncommon to wait for an order for a few weeks, even over a month. Don't worry, they haven't forgotten you! Chances are they are waiting for a shipment of a component ingredient - so they ran out of something they need to make Faiza and are having to wait for it. If you don't want to wait, you could contact them and see if they will swap it out for something else? The Lab has amazing customer service. I know it's frustrating watching everyone else getting their orders when yours hasn't come. But it might help you feel better to email the Lab - they should at least be able to give you a rough estimate for when they will be able to start shipping out orders that contain Faiza again. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that it's soon! Thank you. It just went out. I wonder if it's surprisingly good timing or if they managed to overlook it because just I ordered aged Snake Oil and asked for combined shipping. At least I'll get by without paying shipping for SO, which costs like 1.5 regular bottles.

My lab order has now been "processing" for over a month now. It's 6 bottles (twins included) and three imps, so decanting shouldn't be the reason for holdup, right? I wonder if it's because it includes Faiza, which is out of stock now. If they are doing something like making a batch for those that ordered before the site caught up with stock, I wish they'd have offered the option to swap for something in-stock instead. Everyone else seems to be getting their orders fast.

On dry hair: very bitter cherry and "hair product" scent, very long wear length, strong sillage. On wet hair: opens with bitter cherry but no "hair product" effect. Sweet flowers take over gradually. Very long wear length but low throw, much subtler overall.

Dried berries, reminds me of wild strawberry and wine tannins. Some oudh mid-way through, but the berries dominate consistently. Low throw, but very long wear length.

I got a frimp with Trading Post purchase. Classical men's aftershave for the most part, mostly bergamot, mild juniper beries and a pinch of tobacco. The final stage of drydown is on the sweet side though, with bourbon vanilla and soft leather. I'm not a fan of too masculine masculines, but juniper was toned down here and I regret it isn't available to purchase - it would have been refreshing in summer.

I got a frimp with my Trading Post purchase. What I get from this one is pear. A very sweet and juicy one, but still with that sharp pear-y note, which is what I imagine where "root" component comes from. There are some hints of standard powdery sweet drydown peeking behind it as time goes on. Not for me, but it was an interesting experience. Never ran into a clean pear note before.