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DizzyGinger

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Everything posted by DizzyGinger

  1. DizzyGinger

    The Snow-Woman

    Pine is the showiest note here, with a menthol backbone that I'm assuming is the snow; the two together have kind of a eucalyptus vibe that I'm into. As it wears I get more of the sake, which reads to me as more of a thin, slightly boozy lemon thing. I was concerned the lab's snow note would come across more like a sweet mint like it has in the past, but it isn't particularly - I'm mostly getting eucalyptus piney goodness. It might read medicinal to some if it isn't your jam, but it definitely is mine so I'm on board. My only critiques would be the pine isn't as prominent throughout the wear, and it fades incredibly quickly (as in, less than an hour I'm ready to reapply). I'll keep slathering it on though! I love that it says winter without being mulling spiced or gourmand.
  2. DizzyGinger

    Green Tea & Lemon Peel

    I sometimes find the Lab's green tea note too sweet, but this was really balanced! Grassy tea, fresh lemon peel, nothing not to like. As others have noted, it fades REALLY quickly unfortunately.
  3. DizzyGinger

    Gardenia & Clove

    I got absolutely no clove out of this. The gardenia is sweet and creamy, without the funky indolic quality white florals sometimes have. Still pretty, just not as complex as I was hoping.
  4. DizzyGinger

    Black Pepper & Pink Grapefruit

    I got next to no pepper from this, all grapefruit. That being said, I appreciated that you get the bitter pith scent alongside the juicy fruit, which keeps the grapefruit from being too sweet and elevates it from your standard drugstore grapefruit splash kind of thing. I'll still wear this one, but maybe layered with something more herbal.
  5. DizzyGinger

    The Woman at the Edge of the Woods

    This is definitely herbal, but not lush and green; more like dry herbs and sticks, a little on the dusty side. It smells like fall, kind of like burning leaves and twigs after raking the yard. I get the vanilla husk, but it's a light and subtle touch and it seems to wax and wane when it wants to. There's something sharp and astringent (maybe the myrrh? There's a lot of notes here and I'm having a hard time picking them out) that I'm not loving, and starts to go powdery on me on the drydown. I do get a very incensey vibe from this, but it's a little heavy and mature for my taste.
  6. DizzyGinger

    A Vigilant Eye at Heaven’s Center

    I find this kind of difficult to describe. Wet, I mostly get the green apple and mint, with what might be the coconut palm lurking below. It's very juicy and fruity, but with a bit of green backbone that keeps it from going completely fruit salad on me. As it dries, the mint starts to dominate, and it goes pleasantly creamy. Longevity not great; it had almost completely faded within an hour or two. Overall it didn't wow me, but its pleasant and wearable enough for everyday.
  7. DizzyGinger

    Strangler Fig

    Sweet, sweet, sweet. Sickly sweet. Nauseatingly sweet. I gambled on a full bottle instead of an imp based on some of the reviews that emphasized the green notes present, but I get absolutely no green from this, just squishy sweet fig. Very disappointing.
  8. DizzyGinger

    Himalayan White Tea, Lemon Peel & Grass

    Starts out pretty sweet, even bubblegummy, but the grass and maybe the more herbal edge of the tea become more prominent during the drydown. Granted, it's still plenty sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. The grass threatens to turn to soap on me (as it is wont to do), but never actually goes over the edge, which is a plus! All in all, a pleasant everyday scent. It's not the most complex thing I've gotten from the lab, but I think I'll be reaching for this often.
  9. DizzyGinger

    Blue Moon 2020

    In the bottle: Sweet, juicy white floral, with just a hint of something bracingly herbal in the background (juniper maybe?) Wet: Still sweet and heady white floral. Like ajansuz mentioned, it's difficult to pick out the individual notes here. Drydown: Powder starts to peek its head out (boo), along with the woods. Its developing a little bit of an amber quality on me, but the white floral still dominates. I'm honestly note sure how I feel about this one. It definitely reminds me of a conventional designer fragrance more than Lab blends usually do (not necessarily a bad thing, just different). I do love a white floral, but I like them really heady and juicy, and the ambery thing is making this smell a little more mature than I prefer, bordering on old lady. It's throwing me off because I can't identify anything in the description that would translate to amber; maybe its the woods, and I'm just misinterpreting what I'm smelling. Still pretty, but not one I'll reach for often.
  10. DizzyGinger

    Shelter

    Like the reviewer above, I also got mainly citrus out of this. I ordered Shelter and Doomscroll Blocker at the same time, and I actually wondered if the labels got switched, because DB lists sweet orange as a note but it comes through very little, while this is quite citrusy. I don't know how many of the other notes I'm really picking up on, but there's a warm spicy backdrop that might be the patch and ginger. It's warm, sweet, and cozy, but manages to still be fresh and unimposing. Between this and White Rose the Twilight Alchemy Lab scents might be my new favorites!
  11. DizzyGinger

    Dead Leaves, Lemon Verbena, and Cedar

    Pretty much what it says on the tin: lemon verbena brightness and sweet cedar over a base of dead leaves. Throw is pretty minimal, and my skin absolutely devours it, but it's a nice light unobtrusive scent.
  12. DizzyGinger

    Squirting Shoggoth

    Pretty much what it says on the tin. I get pear the most, with yuzu and green musk in the background; I can't really pick out the oakmoss at all. This is more fruit-forward than I usually go for but it's pleasant enough!
  13. DizzyGinger

    Melancholy Inferno

    Tomato leaf is my favorite scent of all time, so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, to my nose it's pretty much all ashes and red musk, as the previous reviewer noted. It's intensely powdery and smoky, with none of the fresh green I associate with tomato leaf. I can't stand powdery fragrances, so I gave it to my boyfriend hoping it was just my body chemistry and maybe he'd amp more of the tomato leaf, but sadly, no, still pure powder.
  14. DizzyGinger

    Snakes in the Lemon Tree

    This is basically pure sugared vanilla on me, with a bit of a woody foundation from the bark and the barest hint of lemon. On the drydown the lemon disappears completely, and it becomes more wood-forward, but is still primarily a strong vanilla. I don't really pick up the vetiver at all. I was hoping for something a little sharper, with deeper woodiness and less sugar, but though it's not something I'd normally wear it's pleasant enough to throw on once in awhile. Unfortunately the staying power is not great either.
  15. DizzyGinger

    Spotted Cat

    In the bottle, I overwhelmingly smell the chocolate mint, with maybe some vetiver in the background. Applied, the cedar comes out, as do the citrus notes. The chocolate mint is still there, but it's more of a background note to the cedar and citrus, anchoring them in a base of sweetness and depth. It gets sweeter as it dries, to my nose anyway, but never becomes cloying or candy-like. It's just a beautifully balanced herby-woody-citrus. The wear is solid too; I applied at about 7 am, and was still noticeable long into the afternoon. This isn't like anything else in my collection and I think it will be a fall favorite!
  16. DizzyGinger

    The Kangaroo

    In the bottle, I get nutty sweetness. As it dries, any initial nutty or grassy notes are completely dwarfed by sweetness and powder, until that's all that's left. Very disappointing.
  17. DizzyGinger

    White Rose

    This was kind of a gamble for me, but it paid off tremendously. I love rose, and I love herbals, and was afraid this might go dusty potpourri, but it doesn't. In the bottle I found the herbs to be strongest, but with wear the rose comes out a lot more, sweet but not oppressive. I'm amazed at how balanced this is - the rose is present, but never dominates, and the herbal backbone complements beautifully. It smells how a spa should smell, therapeutic but sophisticated. Absolute win for me.
  18. DizzyGinger

    The Peacock Queen

    Oooohhhh she is *LUSH* Based on some of the reviews I was afraid this would be too oppressive or old lady/potpourri smelling, but not at all. Voluptuous is a good word for it. It's as if you tore the petals off the headiest, ripest red roses and just rolled around in them. It's intense - like sniffing the bottle your eyes roll back in your head *ohmygahthissmellssogood* intense - but in a good way, for me at least. She might be a little much for everyday wear, and admittedly is not the most complex of scents, but if you love rose this is an absolute treat.
  19. DizzyGinger

    Pink Cherry & Pink Pepper

    In the bottle and when wet I get very strong almond, as others have noted, and artificial cherry, with no pepper to speak of. As it dries, it begins to smell exactly like a cherry-scented plastic My Little Pony or something (does anyone else remember scented toys from the '90s?). Like, I can very clearly smell plastic under a vague suggestion of synthetic cherry. I'm actually kind of impressed that they managed to conjure something so specific for me, but it's still pretty unpleasant as far as an actual fragrance goes. Unfortunately, the pink pepper never makes an appearance. I knew this would be a gamble but I was just curious enough to give it a shot. Definitely not for me, but impressive in a weird sort of way.
  20. DizzyGinger

    The Rose

    In the bottle, this was definitely rosy, but sweeter and shallower than I had hoped. But when I put it on, I immediately got hit with this harsh, rancid chemical smell. It seriously smelled like a salon perm, if anyone knows what that smells like. It calmed down after about an hour or so, but even then I was just left with a breath of shallow rose. Not my favorite for sure. I didn't get a hint of that chemical smell in the bottle, so it may have just interacted poorly with my body chemistry, but fair warning. Side note, I posted a similar review to this on the main BPAL site, and it must not have been approved because I don't see it there. Has anyone else had negative reviews not get approved?
  21. DizzyGinger

    Chlorophyll

    This was milder than I expected it to be. Definitely green, but not as vibrant as described; more of a softer green, with kind of a soapy quality. Not unpleasant by any means, but I was expecting something sharper and more vibrant.
  22. DizzyGinger

    Sinoatrial Node

    I feel like a lot of the lemon BPAL scents I've tried lately have been really sugary and candied, and this is no exception. I was hoping lemon verbena would equal a more herbal background, but the scent is more akin to lemon drops or a lemon-lime soda than champagne and lemon verbena. I do get the apple, but it feels to me like it's just supporting the sweetness rather than bringing anything distinct to the party. It's not unpleasant by any means, just sweet lemon-apple candy and not much more complex than that.
  23. DizzyGinger

    Basket of Abalone

    I purchased a bottle of this on a whim because I didn't want to miss out! I was expecting spicy, fresh, and aquatic, and sadly ended up disappointed. In the bottle I get pink grapefruit juice, a bit of salt, and heavy powder, which I guess is maybe the ambergris? I didn't notice any pink pepper, which was a little disappointing. Once applied and dried any freshness, citrus, or aquatic notes fade and I was left with pure powder, which I really don't care for. Sad day!
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